


We Might Be Strangers

by LochCamaen



Series: Our Paths Meet [1]
Category: Marvel, X-Men (Comicverse), X-Men - All Media Types, X-Men Evolution
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Domestic Violence, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Mild Language, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-13
Updated: 2016-03-09
Packaged: 2018-03-01 07:13:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 49,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2764373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LochCamaen/pseuds/LochCamaen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a single drunken mistake, Remy LeBeau stumbles into the lives of Anna Marie and Kitty one night. </p><p>It's not like they were ever that normal to begin with.</p><p>Also posted on FF.net.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Drunken Stupor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this story with X-Men Evolution in mind, but it's really a mixture of the general Marvel universe. Evolution's just the main inspiration for the look and feel of the X-Men characters used.
> 
> This fanfic idea was prompted by this [tumblr post](http://lochcamaen.tumblr.com/post/105041064852/tickatocka-i-really-want-an-i-accidentally) and prodded by my best friends. If you want more, let me know by any means possible.
> 
> Onto the story! Enjoy.

The blinking red flash of 7:06 AM was the first thing Anna registered when she slowly blinked open an eye. The second was the insistent whispers of Kitty to wake up and something something.  
  
The third was the sudden urge to punch her room mate for waking her up so early on a Sunday when she had no work shift for once.  
  
“Kitty, whaaat...?”  
  
“Oh, finally!” Kitty sat up from the bed, bouncing on her heels and twiddling with the edges of her tattered pajama sleeves. “Thank God, something's really wrong.”  
  
“W-What...?” Anna pushed herself up from her mattress with one arm as the other gently rubbed at her eyes. “What's good 'bout wrong...?”  
  
“You know what I mean!” Kitty squeaked before quickly covering her mouth and darting her eyes to the door. Anna managed to groggily stink-eye her while kicking off her sheets. “Anna–”  
  
“N-No no noooo.... Ya woke meh up early, it's Rogue.”  
  
“I-I wh–” The brunette curled her fingers into fists and resisted the urge to screech by pursing her lips into a tight line. She continued to bounce, waiting for her best friend to stand up. _Stupid friggin' nickname with stupid friggin' rules!_  
  
“Okay, Ah have risen...” Anna yawned and stretched her arms out, nearly hitting Kitty in the head. Probably on purpose. “What the hell is the problem?”  
  
“I heard noises in the main room earlier but Lockheed was with me so it wasn't him which means someone is in the apartment and he ran off and hasn't come back and I–”  
  
Anna covered Kitty's mouth and motioned for her to breath. The smaller girl did so and slacked her shoulders as Anna lifted her hand away. The Southerner sighed and rubbed her forehead. Lockheed, the resident tom cat in their small apartment, was much loved by both women (and the neighbours seemed fond of him too) but Kitty loved him like he was her first born child or something. She could still feel the burning hole in her bank from all the emergency trips to the vet clinic when he was a kitten. Kitty worried too damn much.  
  
But now Anna was worried about something else entirely.  
  
“Ya think someone broke into the apartment?” Kitty nodded. “Did ya leave the window open again?”  
  
…  
  
Another nod.  
  
“Kitty–”  
  
“I knoooow.” The Illinois girl pouted and whined, feeling her full guilt. “But Lockheed needs to go out at night.”  
  
“Not the point.” Anna held a finger up and sighed again. “How long ago did ya hear noise?”  
  
“10, 15 minutes ago? It was a voice, like a guy's.”  
  
Anna adjusted her sweatpants, then grabbed a wooden baseball bat from behind her bed header. Kitty gave her a disapproving look.  
  
“Anna, you broke Bobby's nose with that thing. I think that's overkill.”  
  
“Ya wanna chance there bein' a rapist in our place?” Both eyebrows rose and Kitty slouched in defeat. Anna slung the bat over her shoulder, then tip toed her way towards the door with Kitty following close behind. “Ah'm gonna peek in quickly, an' if there's a guy we're callin' the police. We'll climb out the fire escape 'fore they get here.”  
  
“Plan. Roger roger.”  
  
The two crept out into the cramped corridor and checked around for any warning signs before slipping down to the far end. Anna kept her grip tight on her bat, crouching down slightly as she came near the wide crack in the door. She hadn't heard any sounds yet, not even of the bell from Lockheed's collar. She wasn't sure if that was a good or bad sign yet.  
  
She kept Kitty in her spot as she pried the door open more with the end of her bat, praying under her breath that it didn't squeak. Someone up there must've felt kind, since it kept silent the entire time. Anna squeezed her head through the gap, giving herself full view of the tiled kitchen and the living room just past the island...  
  
…That was entirely empty.  
  
“Kitty, no one's here.”  
  
“You sure?”  
  
“Ya, I am!”  
  
“ _Fils de salope_ …”  
  
Anna and Kitty both gasped sharply and clung to each other's arms, frozen still in fear of being spotted by whoever spoke. Anna, now fully awake and alert, sprung up onto her feet and held her bat up with white knuckles.  
  
“Get the phone.”  
  
Kitty only nodded, letting go of her and crawling back the way they had come while Anna stepped into the kitchen fully guarded. Keeping her breathing low and her footsteps light, she reached the island to hear a few more muffled phrases. One of them included 'piss off, cat', which meant that Kitty was going to be ecstatic very soon.  
  
Anna peered around the island, squinting her eyes to better her view of the living room. She caught a shadow moving by the couch and breathed a sigh of relief when she recognised the shape of Lockheed's tail. He wasn't in any immediate danger, thank heaven. That seemed to catch the tom's attention as he turned away from the couch to catch her eye and meow loudly.  
  
An arm then grew from behind the couch's armrest and swatted at Lockheed, who seemed only mildly annoyed by the attacker. Anna was far, _far_ more than that.  
  
“Jesus Christ–!” She threw down the bat and slammed her fist down on the light switch for the entire room, casting out the shadows and revealing the anonymous man lying face down on her couch. Anonymous shirtless man to boot.  
  
“Kitty Pryde, there's a hobo on our couch!”  
  
Kitty burst into the kitchen at that moment and skidded to a stop, holding her phone in hand only to drop it once Lockheed mewed at her.  
  
“Locky!” She swooped him off the floor and hugged him tightly, burying her face into his Russian blue fur. Anna swatted her shoulder and growled loudly.  
  
“Hobo!”  
  
“N...Not a hobo...”  
  
The two women snapped their heads over to the couch resident, who was now attempting to sit up and run a hand through his tangled brown hair. Anna made a move to grab her bat again when he finally lifted his head up to meet their gazes.  
  
“...Y' not Pete.”  
  
His tired, hungover brown eyes (Anna could've sworn they glinted red for a second there) searched them both and he repeated himself, thumping his head onto a couch cushion. Kitty stood confused as Anna stormed over and poked him with her bat.  
  
“Who in the hell are ya?! We'll call the cops if ya don't get out!”  
  
“ _Merde_ , _moi_ head...”  
  
“Well?”  
  
The man lifted his head up again, narrowing his eyes at Anna as he scratched his 5-o'clock shadow. She returned the glare, daring him to refuse her again. Kitty came up behind her, holding Lockheed close as she studied the stranger before them.  
  
“I honestly t'ought dis was Rasputin's place.” He closed his eyes and rubbed them, groaning in displeasure. “Obviously not.”  
  
“Rasputin's our neighbour.” Kitty stroked Lockheed's head and glanced up at Anna. “One door up. He's the painter guy...?”  
  
“Oh yeah.” Anna nodded to her and kept her bat up in the guy's face, much to his chagrin. “Still didn' answer mah question, drunko. Who the hell are ya?”  
  
The man groaned again and shifted, poking the bat away from him with a finger. He cracked open one eye and smirked – somehow not looking like a diseased rat despite the greasy hair, baggy eyes and growing beard; that only irked Anna more – offering a hand to them.  
  
“Name's Remy LeBeau, mademoiselles. Désolé 'bout all dis, won't happen again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooow, it's been some time since I've written any 'proper' fanfiction (there are oneshots and drabbles on tumblr that I may post up here if I feel like it) and now I'm finally getting back into the swing of things...maybe? I'm still not 100% sold on the idea of making this fic a long-term commitment due to my webcomic schedule, but I'd like to prove to myself that I can still write for my fandoms in a semi-professional way.


	2. Mystery Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter came unexpectedly. I was just avoiding my work load when the motivation to continue this popped up and I complied. I have no will power, I know. I'm still not entirely sure whether or not to make this a long-term project, so let me know if you'd like a full story out of this!
> 
> For now, enjoy the un-beta'd chapter that I wrote while watching too many Friends episodes.

By the time Anna and Kitty had come to an agreement over what to do with the hungover Remy in their living room, it was far too late for Anna to go back to sleep. Instead, she opted to prepare herself a bacon sandwich for breakfast (as well as to annoy the drunkard still on the couch with the smell) and keep an eye on Lockheed whilst Kitty went to find their neighbour. Said cat was now rubbing against her legs and mewing loudly.  
  
"Ya know you can't have any, Lock. Kitty will smack meh." Anna flipped the bacon pieces over before bending down to pick the Russian Blue up. He stretched a paw out to the pan and she pulled him back. "I'll get ya some real food instead."  
  
Lockheed rubbed his cheek against her's and nipped her chin. Anna flicked his nose and glared at him. His large yellow eyes just stared back, as always. Kitty spoiled him too damn much for his own good. The Southerner muttered to herself and went to rummage through the semi-empty cupboards, swatting Lockheed's paws when he was about to knock something over. It was like having a toddler,  _honestly_. He finally left things be when Anna grabbed a tin of cat food and yanked the top off.  
  
"Much better." Lockheed then began to mewl loudly and jumped out of her arms, bumping into her shin in an effort to get his meal. "Behave yourself, ya lil' bastard..."  
  
The cries continued anyway until Anna emptied the can into the food bowl, but once the cat went quiet, the apartment guest spoke up.   
  
" _Ta gueule_... Doesn' he shut up...?"  
  
"You first, Swamp Rat." She could feel his glare on her back but she couldn't find any energy to throw a stronger one back. Besides, he was suffering enough with a hangover and once she started eating her sandwich in front of him, she'd torture the Cajun enough to last her a few lifetimes.  _That's what you get for breaking into my apartment, douchepants_.  
  
For the meantime, she'd have to deal with listening to his groaning and whining. 

**0XX0**

For as long as she could remember, Kitty Pryde had only ever been scared of three things: Spiders; creepy old guys following her home, and adult responsibilities. Okay, maybe that last one was more than just one thing but that wasn't the point. Talking to others had always been one of her strengths; an area which Anna failed in so Kitty made up for it. It was one of the many things that made them work so well together over the years.  
  
However, she was now dreading having to speak to Piotr Rasputin, their Russian neighbour who lived just across the hall.  
  
Kitty stared up at the 19 number plate on the green door and held her knuckle just an inch away, biting at her lip. She had only come across Piotr a few times since moving into the building, and they had only shared a word or two in those brief moments. She honestly knew more about him from the women in the laundry room than from actually speaking to him. Things like him being an art school student (or graduate? No one seemed to agree on which); knowing English better than the 'thugs' down the street; always willing to lend a helping hand to Mrs.Johnson with five kids on the second floor, etcetera etcetera. Hell, she only knew his name because the postman had slipped the wrong letter into their mail box one day and she hadn't noticed until she had opened it.  
  
Despite all these facts proving that nothing bad would come out of actually having a conversation with the guy, Kitty was absolutely terrified to her deepest core. Why? Not because he was actually really cute and apparently single, noooo.  
  
Never.  
  
"Anna is gonna kill me if I don't hurry up..." Kitty remarked to herself, holding back a shudder at the thought of leaving her best friend alone with the hungover Remy for too long. He'd probably end up like Jean's ex-boyfriend from high school. That was something she never wanted to see again. "Okay okay, I can do this!"  
  
Without a second thought, Kitty banged her fist against the door and quickly stepped back from it. There were some muffled voices before the door cracked open, revealing a short blonde woman with big blue eyes and a face that could be accurately described as a plum. Not the tall dark-haired man Kitty had expected.  
  
" _Privet_?" The woman asked in a thick Russian accent, idly running her nails down the wooden door and staring up at Kitty. She stared right back.  
  
"Uh...is Piotr awake? I need to talk to him..." Kitty fiddled and twiddled with her fingers, only sparing the girl a glance here and there. The blonde tilted her head, making her hair fall past her shoulder and then perked up before shouting something in her mother tongue. A deeper voice replied in the same language and Piotr appeared behind the girl, looking down at Kitty with the same blue eyes. Fear gripped at her once again and she couldn't make out any words.  
  
"Can ve help you?"  
  
"U-Um, yes  _yes_!" Kitty laughed nervously and tried to hide her red face in the folds of her oversized pajamas. "Uh, do you know anyone called, um, Remy LeBeau? 'C-Cause he's on our couch and said he was looking for you..."  
  
Piotr's face fell into a grim scowl and the blonde girl patted his shoulder, talking to him in Russian. He nodded and lifted an arm to let her pass, his expression still not lifting. Kitty looked him over with a raised eyebrow, watching as he ran a hand over his face.   
  
"I..." He started, rubbing the back of his neck and avoiding Kitty's gaze. "I am terribly sorry about him, miss. Remy can...be difficult. He hasn't done any damage?"  
  
"No! No, noooo." Kitty swallowed and tilted back on her feet, smiling as naturally as she could. Judging by Piotr's face, she probably looked like The Joker right now.  _Whoops_. "I thought he was a burglar first, and Anna's just mad at him for waking her up so early on her day off. He's also got a killer hangover, which didn't help with Anna's mood at all."  
  
"Huh." Piotr raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms, opening his door more. Kitty made a point to try and not stare at his bare arms -  _He must work out a ton, they're huge_  - but was failing in that entirely. "Illyana will take while to get the things. I can get him off your couch."  
  
"That'd be great! Great, thanks." Kitty replied as she stepped aside to let Piotr pass her. He called back to Illyana in his apartment before shutting the door behind him. She smiled up at him and hid her face again when he returned his own to her. They stood together in the hall in silence for a few moments, then Piotr spoke up at last.  
  
"Shall ve go?" He asked, making Kitty nearly jump out of her skin. She skittered for a second but quickly recollected herself and cleared her throat. Spinning on her heel, she came face to face with the shiny 20 on her own door just a few footsteps away. Listening carefully, she couldn't hear any evidence of a fist fight or screaming match, so Anna hadn't come to kill Remy yet.  
  
That was good, so far.

**0XX0**

When the door to the apartment finally opened again and Kitty walked in with Piotr trailing behind, Anna and Remy were in the middle of an all-out glaring match. Lockheed was sitting next to Anna on the kitchen island, innocent to the shenanigans happening. Kitty looked between her room mate and their uninvited guest, then announced herself.   
  
Anna and Remy both turned their heads to her, but Remy immediately cursed and buried his face into the couch.  
  
"Hey, Kitty." Anna said with a mouth full of bacon sandwich. Lockheed mewed with her. "Hey, Piotr guy. Welcome ta our humble abode. Mind the drunk asshole."  
  
"Bitch face..." Came from the couch.  
  
"You don't normally make friends so fast. Must be Christmas." Kitty put her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes at Anna.  
  
"You're Jewish."  
  
"Beside the point! He's leaving now anyway." Kitty marched over to the island, whacking Anna over the head and then picking Lockheed up to cuddle. Anna grumbled and finished her breakfast, then ran her fingers through the white strands of hair that framed her face. Why white bangs? Because screw anyone that asks, that's why. Or at least that's what her dad had always told her since she'd been his 'lil' bug'.  
  
"Da, sorry for the trouble." Piotr said as he made his way over to the couch Remy was sprawled over. "I vas not even aware Remy was in the city."  
  
"Stark invited  _moi_ to de opening party." Remy groaned as Piotr lifted him up into a sitting position. " _Ami_ paid for de train, den we had a drinkin' contest 'n' my head is gon' explode, Pete."  
  
"No vonder. What happened to your shirt?"  
  
"Ask me when I'm not 'bout to die."  
  
Piotr pulled Remy up onto his feet and held him upright as he turned towards the ladies, wearing his best apology face. "I'm sorry again about all this. Is there anything I can do for help?"  
  
"Keep him far away from us." Anna muttered and then yelped when Kitty elbowed her in the side with a 'don't screw this up' look in her eye. She glared back.  
  
"We'll let you know, thanks. I'm Kitty, by the way. Grumpy Cat here," If that was Remy sniggering at the stupid nickname, Anna was gonna gut him. "is An– Ah! Rogue, Rogue!"   
  
The stripe haired Southerner smirked and snatched her pinching nails away from Kitty. Totally worth the shoulder slap she got straight afterwards.   
  
"Nice to meet you both." Piotr went on, unaffected by the madness between friends. "Have nice day."  
  
As Piotr half dragged/half carried Remy out of the apartment, Kitty waved to them cheerily while Anna counted down to the minute she'd finally have peace again. Before the men excited out of the door, Remy managed to look over his shoulder at them and smirk once again.  
  
" _Adieu, mesdames_."  
  
Piotr shut the door behind them with his foot and it echoed in the silence all around the room.  
  
"He was quite a looker for a drunk guy–"  
  
"Kitty, no!"

**0XX0**

"Why didn't you go to Belladonna's, Remy?"  
  
The two Russian and Cajun residents of the big lush apartment sat together on a large corner sofa in the living room, all holding their own mugs and sipping from them. Remy was also holding a damp cloth to his forehead and leaning into Illyana's shoulder rub. He narrowed his eyes at Piotr and swallowed.  
  
"Y'know how she woulda reacted seein'  _moi_ like dat. My shoulders still hurt like  _merde_ from de last time she got pissed off." He shook his head and groaned, clenching his free hand to avoid rubbing the spot. Even with the way he felt now, he could feel the numbness. Maybe the asprin could deal with that once the hangover was over with.  
  
"Remy," Illyana shifted in her seat, reaching over to put her mug on the coffee table. Piotr lifted it and slipped a coaster underneath. The young blonde tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, then slowly rubbed Remy's arm. "Bella is vhat ve in home call, 'a bitch'."  
  
"Illyana." Piotr warned. Remy facepalmed.  
  
"Vhat? It's true."  
  
"Two points." Remy lifted his hand up and adjusted his oversized shirt. "First: it's ' **at** home', Illyana."  
  
"I'm still learning,  _pridurok_."  
  
"Second: Bella is not dat bad." The Russian siblings threw glances at each other. "She has moments,  _mais_ she knows 'n' is gettin' better."  
  
"If you say so,  _priyatel_ '." Piotr shook his head and sipped from his mug, sighing through his nose. Illyana sat back and crossed her arms, hunching her shoulders over. Remy just groaned and covered his eyes.  
  
"...Why's y' neighbour called 'Anna'?" He asked, earning a pair of loud groans from the two on his sides. "I'm curious. It's not a real name, Pete."  
  
"That's not her real name." Piotr replied, sipping from his mug again. Both Remy and Illyana looked to him, wide eyed and curious. Thinking about it, Remy thought he had heard the Kitty girl say something before screaming the name. "Katya called her another, but I think there's good reason for 'Anna'."  
  
"Which is?" Remy probed, raising an eyebrow. Illyana repeated him and leaned over with a smirk. Piotr frowned at them both (they were so troublesome together when they wanted to be) but relented.  
  
"I do not know, but I vill respect them. You two should."  
  
"Nah." Remy smirked and chuckled, his deep brown eyes sparkling with a devious glint Piotr never trusted. "Dis Cajun is gonna investigate."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is also being posted over on my Fanfiction.net account under the same username.


	3. Deal Or Non

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And another chapter! I meant to upload this earlier, but things got in the way so I was delayed, sorry! I've made the decision (thanks to my wonderfully annoying friends. Love you all) to continue this fanfic for as long as I can...or until interest in this dies out.
> 
> Enjoy!

Days like this were far too common for Anna's liking. Being stuck inside a tiny, stuffy lecture hall for a subject she was only taking for class credit for hours on end; having zero wifi reception in said hall (this end of the campus absolutely sucked for any technology lover, or anyone bored enough to surf Vine videos during a speech); not being able to text Kitty, Tabitha, Wanda, Amara or even her parents for various reasons, and so many tiny things that just irked her for no rational reason the entire time she was away from her apartment. Throughout each semester, that cramped dirty space in the complex had become her temporary happy place - until she could go to her dad's ranch up in Quebec or stay with her half-brother Kurt on the East Coast. Those were home to her, no matter how long she stayed away between each visit.  
  
Now, with her day of lectures over and a schedule full of projects, Anna was about ready to give zero craps about her book store job.  
  
Not that she hated it, no. The job was something she could have only dreamed of in high school, and even after long shifts that left her with only a few hours sleep, Anna could honestly say she loved it more than anything. She just hated the events that led up to her arrival at the establishment that Wednesday afternoon.  
  
With it all coupled together, Anna reserved herself to just get her uniform on and work on the shelves. Hopefully any customers would think she was too busy to help them find any book that was sitting right in front of them. Or maybe someone up there hated her and wanted her dreams crushed.  
  
"Ain't dis a nice surprise,  _fille_?" Day: ruined.  
  
Holding back a groan that would get her fired once released, Anna slammed a book set down onto the trolley beside her and shot a glare in the direction of  _that_ voice. As she dreaded, the Cajun man was standing nearby over the Art And Culture section, actually cleaned up and looking decent enough to be in public which was a far cry from their first encounter the other night. Though that long trench coat left something to be desired...  
  
Despite that, she much preferred the maroon shirted and ratty jeans toting creeper to the shirtless drunk bum that was on her couch not long ago. Didn't mean she didn't hate him though.  _Ohhhh, nooo_.  
  
"What tha  **hell** are ya doin' in here?" Anna spat the question through her teeth, trying not to raise her voice and bring attention to herself. Remy closed the book he was sifting through and smirked at her -  _that god damn smirk_! She was gonna punch it off him in a minute - before moving closer. Anna moved the trolley between them. " **Answer**."  
  
"If y' must know,  _fille_ , I'm doin' research. Got a job to keep 'n' all,  _non_?" Remy's smirk only widened and he held his book up. ' _Arts And Crafts For The Modern Victorian_ ', the title read. Anna just rolled her eyes.  
  
" _You_ , a job? Ah hardly think anybody would be insane enough ta hire you. And stop callin' meh 'girl'! Ya think Ah don't know basic French? Ah'm old enough ta friggin' drink in this country, thank ya." Anna slammed her palm onto the trolley and felt a burst of joy at seeing Remy flinch back slightly. His expression remained unchanged, however.  _Dammit_.  
  
"Okay okay,  _désolé_." Remy tucked his book under his arm and held up his hands in surrender, even taking a step back. "What would y' rather I call ya, hmm?"  
  
"Mah name, Rogue."  
  
"Dat's not a name."  
  
The pale girl gritted her teeth and almost growled - it scared her sometimes how much like her father she was - but just glared at him instead. From the look on his face, he was enjoying this way too much.   
  
"It's  _ **mah**_ name and you'll use it before Ah ban ya from this store, Swamp Rat." She pushed the trolley towards him but he didn't back down.  
  
"No need to get violent, madame. I know y' mad at  _moi_ for breakin' into y' place–"  
  
"Damn right I am!"  
  
"But I honestly t'ought I was in de right place. I didn' mean anyt'ing by it; I'm sorry, really."  
  
Anna narrowed her eyes and looked Remy up and down, studying him intently. She had to hand it to him; he certainly wasn't acting like the guy she had met that morning. Sure, the smirk was there but it wasn't a constant presence nor nearly as sleazy. That was probably the best word to describe the first Remy – a sleazy slimeball thinking he was hot stuff. Now he was subdued and sincerely apologising. But Anna wasn't a woman to be fooled.  
  
"Who set ya up to this?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.   
  
Remy's eyes snapped wide open and he put a hand on his hip. "Y' t'ink I'm not bein' genuine?"   
  
"Maybe, maybe not." She replied, checking her fingernails and cocking her hip to the side. "Ah've known enough guys like you to know that ya either expect somethin' from meh or somebody set ya up to apologise."  
  
"So y' just assume I'm like de rest?" Brown and green eyes stared each other down, unmoving for what seemed like hours. Anna nudged the trolley just hard enough to bump it into Remy's foot. He flinched and lifted his leg away from the offending wheel. Anna chuckled and stood with a straight back.   
  
"Well, Swamp Rat?"  
  
"Name's Remy, remember?" Said Cajun adjusted himself and dusted his jeans down, glaring at Anna half-heartedly. "If it helps, Pete did ask  _moi_ to patch t'ings up with ya. But I was gon' apologise anyway, whether  _mon ami_  asked or not."  
  
"Oh, Ah see now." Anna just raised her eyebrows and picked up a pair of matching books from the trolley, placing them on the half-empty shelf above her head. She didn't want to look like she was slacking off if any of the other employees came walking in. Things were relaxed around here but there were still standards to perform to.  
  
"Oui. Somet'ing 'bout not wantin' t' make a bad impression on," He made air quotes with his fingers. "'Katya'. Y' roommate, I t'ink?"  
  
"Kitty?" Anna blinked and shoved a book into a random spot on the shelf, snapping her head to face Remy again. "He likes her?"  
  
" _Je ne sais pas_." Remy shrugged and shoved his hands into his coat pockets, rolling back on the heels of his shoes. Somehow the book under his arm managed to stay in place. "By de way, y' never answered my question..."  
  
"Ya do realise Ah got a job to keep as well, right?" Anna drawled, turning away again to switch some books around from shelf to shelf. She could practically hear the thump of disappointment next to her; she smiled.   
  
"Seriously, lady, what's y' real name? Dis is gonna keep  _moi_ awake at night an' I'll keep comin' back here 'til I get m' answer." That made Anna cringe unwillingly and she shuddered at the thought of having to deal with this bastard for 3 days a week until Thanksgiving or whenever one of them left town. Then a thought struck her.  
  
"Ah ain't telling ya mah name, but Ah'll make ya a deal." Remy perked up and leaned against the trolley, motioning for her to continue. "Just call meh Anna an' don't pester meh for mah name, and Ah'll forgive ya for breakin' in."  
  
Anna then leaned against the trolley herself, giving Remy a hard look. He shot her one straight back, running her deal through his head a few times. He then held out a hand and that stupid smirk returned to his face.  
  
"I t'ink I can deal on dat." Anna nodded and gave his hand a firm shake with her own.  
  
"Also, if ya tell Piotr that Kitty would like to go out with him, Ah may consider not guttin' you next time ya show up drunk."  
  
Remy ducked his head and laughed, pulling his hand away to give Anna a mock salute. "Have ya no faith in me, Rogue?"  
  
"None whatsoever."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the shorter chapter this time, but I really wanted to get the Kiotr subplot rolling. The main plot will return soon enough, no worries! Thanks for all the appreciation you've shown this fic; I didn't expect so much! I'll update this again with a longer chapter soon enough, and if you think you know where this is heading...well, you don't. 
> 
> I've done my research and done a lot of plotting on my part to avoid the tropes that plague a lot of romance fanfics and the Romy pairing, just to give you all a unique experience.
> 
> So when I say this fanfic is a slow build, I mean it.


	4. New Faces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to get done. I've been behind on so much projects because of the holidays and my new schedule means that I'll be constantly working on art projects until April or May, I think? I'm going to try my best to update this fic every week, but don't count on it!
> 
> Anyways, time for Kitty and Illyana.

Wednesdays had never been too much of a spectacle for Kitty Pryde. Ever since middle school, it had just been a day that she could only call 'meh'. Nothing ever happened, and even if it did, it wasn't something you would write to home about. Every single week without fail, it was the same. So Kitty had devised her own perfect system to beat the boredom.  
  
Ever since entering college, Wednesdays were Chore Day. And project day if she really needed to get extra work done.  
  
As per usual on her schedule, Kitty was taking her and Anna's week laundry down to the building's laundrette along with a book for studying. Just like in the dorms on campus, anyone would steal your machine time if you weren't looking. After wasting $5 on someone else's dirty socks, Kitty made a commitment to just stay at her machine until it was all done. It was probably best that she was in charge of this chore; Anna would rather make a big deal with the timer thief then wait it out. Again, it was another thing that made their living situation so great.  
  
On this particular day, Kitty seemed to be alone for the lunchtime slot at the washing machines, which suited her just fine. She could probably get some essay research done with the peace and quiet. With a smile on her face and heart, Kitty started to unload her basket into her machine.  
  
The door into the room opened with a loud squeak and then slammed shut after hurried footsteps. Kitty paid no heed, just putting her quarters in and then taking her textbook out of her satchel. Socials class wasn't exactly the most fun thing to write a paper for, but it was only for the semester and her GPA could really use any help it could get if she was to keep her scholarship for another year.  
  
Kitty sat down against her machine, rubbed at her eye and flipped over a page, barely lifting her head and catching a glimpse of the person who had joined her: Illyana.  
  
The Russian blonde, wearing just a thin cardigan over a purple shirt and skinny jeans, was standing in front of a washing machine at the other end of the room, narrowing her eyes at the lettering around the setting controls. She muddled with them a bit before opening the door, throwing a large bundle of white clothes in and then digging through her pockets for quarters. A string of Russian curses slipped past her lips when they came up empty.  
  
Kitty stretched out her back and winced when it popped, which brought Illyana's attention over to her. _Crap_.  
  
The two young women stared each other down for what seemed like an age, blue and violet eyes growing wide with each passing second until Kitty forced herself to blink. Illyana snapped out of it as well and just rocked back on the heels of her shoes.  
  
" _Zdravstvuyte_." The blonde waved to Kitty quickly and she blinked again. "Oh, sorry! Not used to English yet. Hello, I'm Illyana."  
  
"Uh, hi?" Kitty waved back but quickly pulled her hand down. She wasn't really a 'wavy' person; she was more into hugging the crap out of others, much to Anna's chagrin. "Out of quarters, huh?"  
  
" _Da_ , I forgot the money upstairs." Illyana rolled her eyes back and leaned against the machine, groaning loudly. She rubbed her forehead and pushed herself upwards. "I can't go back up vithout losing machine."  
  
"I have some change if you need it." Kitty blurted out before she could stop herself. She mentally cursed herself as Piotr's girlfriend-fiance-whatever beamed at her. Damn her inability to refuse help to others! Now she was gonna be stuck with the so-called 'competition' for the next few hours. Great crap-ickle-ness. _Buh_.  
  
As Illyana thanked her in both English and Russian, Kitty took out her purse and dumped her change into awaiting hands. Once the blonde had her back turned, Kitty facepalmed as hard as she could and muttered what little Yiddish her grandparents had attempted to teach her. Oh, they'd be so proud of her right now.  
  
"I'm so happy you're here, Katya." Huh? What the hell? Two minutes alone with her and she already had a nickname. Double damn it. "Not many help me here."  
  
"Yeah, they can be real jerks." Kitty said more to herself rather than to Illyana. "And my name's Kitty."  
  
"Oh, sorry!" Illyana perked up and a look of guilt washed over her face, turning slightly pink in the cheeks. "I didn't know; my _starshiy brat_ calls you Katya all time."  
  
"...Who?"  
  
"My brother, Piotr. He lives next to you, _da_."  
  
In that moment, Kitty felt her soul lift right out of her body and then completely shatter. She was sure that Illyana spoke to her and shook her shoulders, but it was all white noise and blurry nothings to her now. The man she had been attracted to for months had a sister and she actually thought said sister was **his girlfriend**. Katherine Pryde was officially the dumbest person on Earth.  
  
Then she started laughing.  
  
Illyana jumped away and watched with her wide eyes as Kitty kept laughing. She curled into a tight ball of high-pitched giggles and rolled onto her side as the last of the air in her lungs squeezed out, leaving Kitty to wheeze through the remaining giggles. Illyana stood motionless, only shifting to take glances around the room. They were still alone, _slava Bogu_.  
  
"O-Oh my God...!" Kitty gasped out and coughed once she started breathing again. Illyana knelt down to grab her shoulder and yank her upright. Kitty shook her head, her giggles finally dying down to deep breaths. "I-I can't believe I was so stupid... I thought you were Piotr's girlfriend or something like that, and I got _sooo_ jealous about it but you're actually his **sister** which makes _sooo_ much more sense and my brain just kinda broke right now and I'm sosososo sorry, Illyana!"  
  
...  
  
"...Could you repeat, Katya?"  
  
Kitty slammed her head back into the side of a washing machine. Illyana cringed inwardly, took a seat next to Kitty and patted her knee. The brunette slumped her head down with a loud groan, only looking up at Illyana a long moment later.  
  
"I'm so stupid, I'm sorry." Kitty whined, resting her head on her knees and trying to pull her jacket over herself. Illyana pulled it back down and started to smooth down the frayed hairs in her ponytail.  
  
" _Net_ , _net_. You're not stupid." Illyana cooed softly, idly fiddling with Kitty's hair as a distraction for her own nerves. "Just a...misunderstand, _da_?"  
  
"Oh, God." Kitty inhaled deeply again, slumping even more against her legs. "This is the most embarrassing thing to ever, like, happen to me. _Pleaaase_ don't tell your brother; I might actually die."  
  
"Piotr? I doubt he be bothered. He likes you too much, 'Katya'." The young Russian barely had a second to snap backwards to avoid being hit by Kitty's sudden upwards jolt. A bright toothy grin lit up her face, a sight that Illyana found herself enjoying after the display of madness not minutes ago. It suited the college girl far better for her tastes.  
  
"He seriously likes me?" Illyana nodded with her own smile and, somehow, Kitty's own grew wider. Her cheeks flushed and she bit the inside of her cheek to hold back a loud squeal. Yeesh, no wonder Anna used to her call her 'boy crazy'. Not like she could help it; the last guy that shared her feelings turned out to be a complete dick stick. At least her friends agreed to let her punch Lance first if they ever saw him again.  
  
Now a really sweet guy with a sweeter sister liked her and Kitty was excited.  
  
" _Da_ , Piotr says you're very nice and intelligent." Illyana smirked and stroked her hair back over her shoulder. "Ladies in the lobby tell him you always like to help others. Never complain."  
  
Kitty snorted and shook her head, shifting so she was shoulder-to-shoulder with Illyana. "Trust me, I complain allll the time...to my roommate. But yeah, I like lending a hand when I can. It's just being decent."  
  
"Good quality to have. Piotr alway say it's not common in cities like this."  
  
"You can find the right people if you look hard enough." Judging from the laughing smile Illyana was giving her, Kitty was pretty sure she had done just that.

**0XX0**

Turning the doorknob and shrugging off her long coat, Anna strode into her apartment in wide steps and dumped her things on a nearby armchair. She kicked the door closed behind her and let her entire day roll off her in giant tsunami waves. Dealing with that damn Cajun at the bookstore even after they made their deal was a test sent by the Lord himself. Sometimes she wished that Ororo was her birth mother, just so that she could have inherited her step-mother's endless patience and snark to deal with assholes.  
  
Then she noticed that Kitty wasn't home alone.  
  
On the couch was her roommate, the blonde girl living with Piotr and Lockheed sprawled out between them and purring in content. All three turned to look over at Anna when the door made noise. Kitty was about to stand up but Anna waved her down and made her way to the kitchen.  
  
"Ya better be workin' on that big paper, Kitty. Don' wanna get a bad grade, do ya?"  
  
"Shaddup. You're no better." Kitty picked Lockheed up for a cuddle, pouting her usual way to the Southerner. "I'm just spending time with Illyana, that's all."  
  
"Hello." Illyana waved to Anna and smiled, though those quickly died when she just looked the blonde over and then dived into the fridge. "I've been helping Katya get to know Piotr."  
  
"Shouldn' ya actually go, y'know, talk to him?" Anna threw a stink eye over her shoulder before picking up a bowl of cherries from the back of the fridge. Better than nothing.  
  
Wait, why was she...?  
  
"Are ya settin' those two up?" Anna called out, grabbing the ladies' attention once again. Even Lockheed was staring at her. "Ya can't do that, Ah made a frickin' deal with Swamp Rat ta do it mah'self!"  
  
"Oh, you talked to Remy!" Kitty and Illyana cheered in unison. They laughed and high-fived each other, leaving Lockheed to just stare like a deer in the headlights. Anna narrowed her eyes at them.  
  
"Ta get him to leave me _alone_ , yeah."  
  
" _Net_ , this is good!" Illyana clasped her hands together and rubbed them like some sort of old Bond villain with the greatest plan ever. "We can use all help we can get, Anna."  
  
The Southerner blinked and started to contemplate her life choices as she was dragged over the plotting zone by two pairs of surprisingly strong twig arms. Sitting between the blabber mouths and trying to block out the white noise, Anna made her choice:  
  
She was gonna punch Remy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not the greatest chapter I could have written, but this took long enough to type out so I'm just leaving it as it is for now. I'm also happy to report that this fanfic may well go over 100 chapters! I'm writing out the plot in chapters at the moment and on chapter 68, I'm about half way done. We'll see how this fic takes us.
> 
> Leave your thoughts and kudos!
> 
> Translations:  
> Zdravstvuyte - Hello  
> Da - Yes  
> Starshiy brat - Big brother  
> Net - No


	5. Planning For Hell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter, yay! I've been loving all the attention this fic has been getting; keep it coming! It's driving my will to update this as much as possible.
> 
> This chapter, we get important introductions~

Dating hadn't exactly been a field of interest that Anna had been skipping around in since her sophomore year in high school. After dealing with Cody's accident and subsequent coma, the teenaged Anna had distracted herself from the grief by swearing off all potential dates and diving neck-deep into her schoolwork. It had certainly paid off; she had gotten a scholarship to one of the top universities in the country alongside her best friend and even got offers to go abroad.  
  
However, it also meant that planning Kitty's date with Piotr next week (it was probably a good thing Illyana was helping; she got her brother to agree to the night out, and attempt to spend time with Kitty that wasn't through a doorframe) was Hell on Earth.  
  
Initially, she had thought of buying tickets to a new rom-com film for the two of them (that's what couples do, right? Watch stupid actors pretending to be in love?) but when Kitty expressed her wishes to spend the date getting to know the Russian giant better, that plan was scrapped. Dinner at a restaurant was the cliche option that could hardly go wrong, but there weren't any good date-worthy places in the city that any of them could afford at the moment.   
  
So here was Anna now, lying defeated on her couch with her closed laptop on her stomach and praying that some grand idea came to her before it was time to get back to project work again.  
  
Sure, she could just hand the reigns over to Illyana and stop wasting time, but Anna had a deal to come through for. Not just her one with the Cajun, but the one she made to make her best friend the happiest woman on Earth no matter what. Because Anna was super nice like that. After the whole Lance fiasco in high school and a long string of uninterested guys following that, Kitty deserved to have a good night out with someone who wasn't a complete asshole. Not that she was accusing Piotr of being such; she just hadn't known him long enough to fully asses him just yet.  
  
Anna loved a challenge with a big reward at the end, so there was no way she was going to give this up any time soon. It would just help if she had some sort of epiphany right now.  
  
Then her laptop rang its familiar Skype jingle.  
  
"Great..." She muttered under her breath, opening up the laptop anyway. The only people that called her online were her friends and family, and Anna wasn't the type of person to ignore that contact. Especially being in college and so far away from them all, she feared drifting away from them. She feared them leaving her.  
  
The laptop screen flashed awake and Anna's smile broke out once she saw the contact name. She accepted the call.  
  
"Anna!" A young child's giddy face filled the webcam space almost immediately and only backed away when Anna greeted her. The webcam feed was a little bit fuzzy, but Anna could still see every detail on the girl: Her soft black skin covered in dimples and freckles; dark (almost grey) hair tied up in pigtails with her favourite yellow scrunchies; big brown eyes that always shined, and cheeks any pinching fingers would die for. Such was the image of Anna's little sister whom was calling from the far away lands of Canada.  
  
"Ya gettin' bigger every time Ah see ya, Kenny." Anna sat up, leaning against a cushion and adjusted her laptop so the webcam could capture the crappy apartment lighting better. "Ya eatin' your veggies like Ah told ya to?"  
  
Her sister giggled and shook her head, biting on her lip. "Nuh uh! Pop got me eatin' lotsa burgers an' we-re- _red_ meats, so I can be big 'n' strong like him."  
  
"Pop has gotta eat veggies to grow big an' strong too." Anna rolled her eyes but smirked anyway. It was the same conversation ever since she had moved away to college. Kedall Howlett was just as difficult with food as any other 5-year-old; Anna won as many times as she lost. That was probably due to the half-sisters both inheriting their father's limitless stubborn streak. A curse on everybody they inflicted it upon!   
  
"So why are ya callin' meh, lil' badger?"   
  
"'Cause I can!" Kedall crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks out, which only served to make Anna laugh. "And I hasn't talked to ya in evers. Jubie 'n' Laura don' wanna do anythin'."  
  
"That's 'cause they're horrible teenagers, Kenny. Ah'm gonna have ta smack 'em when I come up for Thanksgivin', ain't I?" Kedall nodded. Anna smiled more. Jubilee and Laura were their other two sisters. Adopted, and another half sister from a short relationship their father had in the aftermath of his divorce from Anna's mother (if you could even call her that; she never acted like one to her. It was not a subject Anna liked to talk much about). Both of them were currently in high school, full of hormones and puberty, and thus not old enough to appreciate the time spent with Kedall. They would soon enough, just as Anna had not long ago.  
  
"What'chu doin' anyways, Anna?" Kedall tilted her head and bounced in her seat, ignoring the loud voices in her background. Dad must be having trouble with the farmhands again. Anna ran her fingers through her bangs and sighed.  
  
"Ya remember Kitty, don'tcha?" Kedall nodded. "She met a nice guy an' Ah agreed ta help plan their first date. Ah can't think of a single thing."  
  
"Eww, she gon' be mushing faces with him?"  
  
"If she likes him enough."  
  
" _Ewww_!"   
  
"Ya know you wouldn' have been born if Pop hadn' mushed faces wit--"  
  
"Nooo!" Kedall covered her ears and scrunched her face up. "You nasty!"  
  
"Shush you," Anna chuckled under her breath and rolled her shoulders, sighing when she felt one of them pop. Kedall glared at her, but just made her laugh more at the sheer absurdity of her face. Eccentric stink eyes certainly didn't fit pretty little girls like Kedall. "Ah still gotta come up with an idea for the date."  
  
"Make 'em go get ice cwe-cream. It's good." Kedall said proudly.   
  
"Ah'll put that on the idea list." Anna smiled and Kedall returned it tenfold.  
  
"Oh, an' walk on the beach!"  
  
"The beach is a state away, Kenny..."  
  
"So?"  
  
Anna rubbed her temple and then pinched the bridge of her nose. "It's really far away, sugah. Ah wanna keep it close. Maybe they can make a trip ta the beach another day, 'kay?"  
  
"Fine." The girl pouted. "Momma lets me feed ducks at the lake. It's lotsa fun."  
  
"I bet it is." There was a big park with a lake on the other side of town, actually. It was one of those nice parks that had a semblance of a budget to keep it clean and safe all year round. As far as Anna knew from eavesdropping on freshman gossip on campus, it worked to great extent. Apparently, tea lights had been put in the trees and hedges for the winter season, and it was a sight to behold after sunset... "Kenny, ya are the best lil' sister I could wish for."  
  
"Better than Jubie?"  
  
"Ten times, sugah. She didn' just give meh the best first date idea ever."

  
**0XX0**

After about an hour of catching up with her sister, getting a dropped in message from Ororo and mentally planning out the date, Anna finally made her way to the Rasputin apartment where Kitty had been spending the day with Illyana. She knocked on the door and opened it (everybody above the fifth floor almost never locked their doors before going to sleep. If they're going to be robbed, they're going to come through the windows not the front doors) before waltzing straight in.

"Kitty, Ah got ya date sorted out-- What the hell?"

Now, Anna had only seen the inside of the Rasputin apartment a couple of times in her entire time of living in this complex, but she knew that there was only one blonde and it wasn't the one currently staring up at a painting hanging on a drying rack. The woman was gazing intently at the painting, eying each brush stroke with a red-lipped smirk. She pushed back her short blonde locks into her extremely stylized hair. That was probably the best way Anna could describe this stranger: stylized. Everything about her screamed high street, model and prissy. Even her sharp cheekbones seemed more expensive than Anna's entire wardrobe, though they looked aged and fake under the piles of make up covering her face. The cigarette pack poking out of her skirt pocket explained it all too well.

The older woman finally noticed Anna's gawking and peered back with those studying eyes. Anna held back the urge to wince and walk away.

"Y' must be Anna Marie," She said in a Cajun accent, curling her smirk up more. Must be a friend of the Swamp Rat's. "I've heard 'bout y'."

"Mah name's _**Rogue**_. An' who are ya?" Anna asked, not bothering to hide her bite. Who the hell had been spreading her name around?

"Oh, where are m' manners!" She laughed, though Anna would've preferred to compare it to a witch's cackle. "Je suis Bella Donna. I'm Remy's _amie_."

Anna bit down on her tongue and forced herself to smile in reply. The thought of Remy actually holding down a serious relationship of any kind just tickled her funny bone the way she liked it. But if Bella was here, then so was he...

 _Perfect_.

"...'n' I'm tellin' ya, mon ami. Jus' fix some of 'em up 'n' it'll be fine-- Roguey, y' showed up!"

Attention turned over to the other side of the apartment where Remy and Piotr were exiting from a room that stunk of oils and canvas. Normally, Anna would have punched the Cajun's arm for the stupid nickname but she was more irritated by Bella. Maybe later.

Remy made his way over, smiling brightly as he kissed Bella's hair. Piotr trailed behind, giving Bella a sly side-look that Anna barely caught. Good, she wasn't the only one.

"I was jus' introducin' m'self to Anna--"

" _ **Rogue**_."

"--Marie here."

Bella leaned into Remy like a feline and he wrapped an arm around her slim shoulders. At least he had the decency to look alarmed at his girlfriend's use of her name. But that glimmer of respect went right back down the drain when he didn't mention it.

"Dat's nice, _belle_." Remy switched his gaze over to Anna, somehow not cringing at her death-worthy glare. "Glad y' here, Rogue. We figured out what t' do for next week."

"Oh really?" He nodded. "'Cause it jus' so happens that I got an even better idea, Swamp Rat."

"Ve're always open to suggestions." Piotr said, sending Anna an understanding glance. They were as uncomfortable as each other in this space.

"Least someone is. But Ah wanna run it by Kitty first." Translation: Get me out of here NOW.

"Da, of course." Piotr nodded, motioning his hand to the doors on the far side of the room. Anna could see why the ladies downstairs spoke so highly of him. Kitty was lucky (Piotr was even luckier but that was a thought for another time).

"Thanks." She quickly muttered, feeling Bella's eyes scorching the back of her head all of a sudden as she all but ran to the door that had a painting of a ballerina on it. Definitely girl's room. Anna knocked on it and almost jumped out of her skin when it opened and Illyana's head popped out.

"Whatever y' _amazin_ ' idea is," Remy called over. Anna wasn't looking but she _**knew**_ he was frigging smirking. Damn rat. "it ain't gonna beat our double date."

"Double d-- _**Whoa**_!" Four fantastically strong twig arms grabbed Anna and pulled her into the room, slamming the door behind her. The Southerner toppled over onto a large beanbag and groaned. "The hell, Kit?"

"Sorry, it was the heat of the moment!" Kitty pulled Anna up onto her feet and dusted her shoulders off before stepping back. Anna shook her head and readjusted her favourite purple shirt. Great, more to add to the ironing pile. "We've been stuck in here for aaages avoiding Paris Hilton out there."

"Ah...see." Anna took in the sight of the two new 'sisters-from-another-mister'; their messy hair, crumpled pajamas and various food packets littered around what used to be a garbage basket. Knowing Kitty, she wouldn't let herself be caught dead in her pajamas by a guy she liked, so obviously the situation was quite dire. Or they seriously hadn't left the room since this morning and thus were insanely paranoid about Bella.

Illyana flopped onto her large bed and whined out a few Russian curses. "This is terrible! They been here for hours and refuse to leave. I cannot be in same room as that _suka_."

Anna raised an eyebrow. Sure, Bella was rudeness incarnate and had irked the ever living crap out of her in the few minutes they had spent interacting, but she hardly seemed like the type of person you would actively avoid for hours on end. To her surprise, Kitty nodded in agreement.

"I knooow. She makes you feel like a piece of trash, honestly."

"Ah'm...missin' somethin', ain't I?" Illyana and Kitty nodded in unison. Anna crossed her arms and sighed. "Whatever it is, tell meh later. Kenny gave meh _**the**_ best date idea for ya and Pete."

"Oh thank God!" Kitty relaxed her shoulders and smiled, enveloping Anna in a tight hug. She patted her on the back. "Piotr let Remy talk him into this stupid double date with him and blondey, and I'm dreading the thought of eating fancy food at the same table."

"Ve only go along vith idea because Piotr cannot talk when he is alone with pretty girls."

"Shush yoooou."

"Never!" The two girls giggled and Anna pushed herself away from her roommate.

"Trust meh, mah idea is waaay better--" Three pairs of eyes turned to the door when they heard a loud knock and a few muffled Russian words. It then opened and Piotr slipped inside, collapsing onto the beanbag in a huff. Illyana spoke to him in their native tongue and he replied in kind before sitting up.

"It is suffocating out there." He ran a hand through his short black hair and sighed heavily. "I can only take so much amateur painting criticisms."

"Bella fancies herself an arty fart, eh?" Anna asked and Kitty confirmed. Piotr crossed his arms and flexed his fingers a few times. His cheeks were bright and he was barely holding in a few loud curses. Anna could sympathize, somewhat. Her writing in high school was constantly scrutinized by AP English students who thought they knew everything about the English language after 2 weeks of reading Hamlet; it made her hate everything that ever ended up in her notebooks. Piotr was a professional painter with an art education and a small following in the gallery world; to be criticized by some average Picasso or Van Gogh fan was probably the most annoying thing in all of creation to him.

"Just ignore her, Pi." Illyana snorted. "Bella only care for herself and her _things_."

"Swamp Rat must put up with a load of crap from her then." It still astounded and amused Anna that any woman could find any part of Remy flattering or charming; the way he had acted at the bookstore was only proof of that. An arrogant, self-absorbed rat, in and out.

But somehow that struck a wrong cord and now the Russian siblings were tense, barely glimpsing at each other. Even Kitty looked bewildered at the sudden silence. Illyana and Piotr had known the Cajuns much longer than Kitty or Anna had, obviously, and knew more of that relationship. It still made Anna question just _what_ they knew.

"So, vhat was your idea?" Piotr cleared his throat and turned to Anna along with Illyana. The Southerner stood frozen under their eyes, both intensely giving her a look that could only mean one thing:  
 _  
You don't want to know_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:  
> Je suis Bella Donna - I am Bella Donna  
> Amie - Girlfriend  
> Mon ami - My friend  
> Belle - Beauty/Beautiful  
> Suka - Bitch
> 
>  
> 
> Wow, this took much longer to write out than I had planned. No matter, we got Bella Donna and Kendal introduced! If you're wondering, Kendal is not an OC of mine. She's from an issue of 'Marvel: What If?' where Logan and Ororo had kids together. I only created her 5-year-old personality.
> 
> Future chapters are going to be so fun to write now~ I'll try and not write in Rogue's POV so much, but I can't make promises. In the meantime, I've been uploading character designs onto my art blog! The username is lochcamaenarts on tumblr, and I've uploaded Kitty, Rogue, Bella, Illyana and Lockheed already. I'll get to other characters later on.
> 
> Please leave your thoughts and don't forget to fav/follow!


	6. Bittersweet Lovin' Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My updating schedule is the worst, I swear. I'm sorry for not updating this sooner, but this chapter was a real doozy to get done right (plus I got a new computer this week and had to set it up solo) and I'm still not sure it's great. But I didn't want to delay this one any further so here you go!
> 
> It's over 7000 words long, so enjoy it!

The following week passed about as slowly as it possibly could have. Kitty, ever the perfectionist, went into an organising frenzy with Illyana (no matter how strange their friendship was, Anna was grateful there was someone else Kitty could pour her crazy onto). To make sure she got some sleep and wasn't completely distracted from classes, Anna and Remy put themselves in charge of checking restaurants; booking at an early enough time to watch the sunset in the park after eating; calling taxis to take them to each location; clearing all their schedules for the night, and then setting up an emergency line in case anything went wrong (this was more enforced by Remy during one of his visits to the bookstore. Anna didn't see the point but she lost that battle after a couple of hours).  
  
Since when was a first date so complicated?  
  
For the most part, the two Southerners managed not to kill each other in the whole process. Argued and fought like dogs in a ring? Every day. Remy seemed to love Anna's instant reactions, which only led to more teasing and riling up. The only time Anna found any peace around him was when Bella accompanied him and took up his time. The blonde Cajun practically crawled all over him when Anna, Kitty or Illyana were in the room. Kitty was right about her being possessive at least.  
  
The nagging Ororo-like voice in the back of Anna's head encouraged her to get to know Bella before buying into the stories Illyana told them. This was especially difficult when Bella Donna Beaudreux was annoying as hell. Anna let Remy know this and promptly started a heated argument in the middle of Piotr's apartment. They got back on speaking terms via a guilt trip from Kitty a day and a half later.

 

**0XX0**

 

On the day before the fated date, Anna was dragged into the Rasputin apartment to help organise an outfit for Kitty. She and Kitty had polar opposite fashion tastes, so that went as well as it could for them. After leaving her laptop with them on a Skype call with Ororo (she was a fashion queen and loved Kitty as one of her own; there was no one better to lend a hand), Anna mosied on back to the living room only to find Remy already in there.  
  
With Lockheed.  
  
Traitor.  
  
The Russian Blue was circling Remy's feet, rubbing against his shin and purring loudly as the Cajun took several close-ups photos of Piotr's paintings scattered over the floor. He took a moment to scratch behind Lockheed's ear, which made the cat lean into him and almost fall over. Anna raised her eyebrows, catching the tom's attention with a glare. He mewed and shirked away. This, in turn, brought Remy's attention onto her.  
  
" _Bonjour_ , River Rat." Remy moved a painting aside and put his phone away, a smirk plastered all over his face. Lockheed immediately took up the space.  
  
"Attention whore." Anna muttered aloud, glaring at the stupid cat. Weren't cats supposed to hate everyone?  
  
"Now now, Roguey-–" She growled. "-–dat's not de way t' treat a _chat_."  
  
"Ah've called 'im worse before." Anna defended, rolling her eyes hard enough to make it hurt. "An' Ah told ya ta stop callin' meh that."  
  
"I agreed not t' bother y' 'bout your name. I jus' found a loophole." Lockheed rubbed against Remy again and pawed at the ends of his coat sleeves, catching a claw in the stitching which led to a loud baby-like cry. The brunette chuckled and bent down to free the paw, waving a finger in front of him to chase.  
  
That damned smirk disappeared before it could annoy Anna any further, and though she hated to admit it, the sight of the Cajun playing with Lockheed was...sweet. That friggin' trench coat just about ruined the image, though. How low in society did you have to be to find that thing acceptable in public?  
  
No, she was never going to let it go.  
  
Speaking of names, however...  
  
"Did ya tell Bella mah name?"  
  
Remy lifted his gaze back up to her, somewhat confused. He stood up straight, taking Lockheed into his arms and shaking his head. "Didn't know y' name b'fore she mentioned it dat day, _ami_."  
  
"Then how in the _hell_ did she find out?" Anna put her hands on her hips, trying her best to sneer down her nose at the man much taller than her. Remy hardly seemed impressed. Lockheed was pawing him for stroking.  
  
"Dere was a list she was starin' at in de lobby last week." He rolled his shoulders back and obeyed the cat's command. "Must've caught it dere."  
  
"And...you still keep usin' **the** name." Anna mused. She had seen first-hand how Remy would use anything to get a rise out of her, and how much he had wanted to know her 'real' name. But 'Anna' and 'Roguey' were as far as he went, whether or not Bella was around.  
  
"A deal's a deal, right?" He asked, putting Lockheed down on the couch away from Piotr's drawing pads. "I ain't dat bad wit' requests."  
  
"Right..." Anna mumbled under her breath. Something felt off about this...  
  
"Don'tcha trust _moi_?"  
  
"Of course not." She answered without a beat, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Ah only tolerate ya so Kitty can have a nice night out. After that, I'm bleachin' mah brain 'n' curb stompin' ya face."  
  
Remy barked out a laugh and crossed his arms tightly. He bit his bottom lip, holding back a whole round of laughs. "I'd hate t' see what you'd do to a _homme_ y' hate, Rogue."  
  
"Maybe you'll find out."  
  
" _Oui_ , 'maybe'." He smirked, took out his phone again, and then bent down to take a photo of a small canvas leaning against a pair of propped up shoes that Lockheed was trying to claw at. Once that was done, Remy moved the painting and picked up his ratty shoes.  
  
"Don' worry, I'll be outta y' hair quick."  
  
"God, Ah hope so." Anna scoffed when she saw the Cajun snatch cat hair off of his coat and shoes. For a guy who loved cuddling Lockheed just moments ago, he sure was prissy about the fur.  
  
She then turned away and made way to the door, feeling a hernia forming just from being around the guy for so long. The stress from dealing with him _and_ schoolwork on a regular basis was going to kill her within the year. Yeesh, no wonder Kitty told her she was so grumpy all of the time.  
  
"See y' later, Roguey!"  
  
She slammed the door behind her.

 

**0XX0**

 

The night of the date came no sooner or later than Kitty had wanted it to. With Illyana's help and the two Southerners arranging everything for them, Kitty and Piotr had practically nothing to worry about.  
  
With her laptop and textbooks crammed away for the night and Anna currently applying eyeshadow to her lids, Kitty could barely hold in her excitement.  
  
"Sugah, Ah can't make ya look pretty if ya keep budgin'." Anna flicked her nose and Kitty pouted.  
  
"You think I'm not pretty all the time?" Kitty asked, crossing her arms defiantly. Anna gave her a look that, after years of familiarizing herself with, translated to: "Are ya friggin' kiddin' meh?"  
  
"No, Ah think ya look fabulous." Anna swatted her ear and then held her head up to face her. "But we don' wanna scare tha poor guy, so we'll tone ya down for tonight."  
  
Kitty refrained from biting down on her lip (the make up was still fresh) and snorted instead, which earned her another swat and an earring in the eye. Sitting on her hands and trying to keep her face straight, Kitty settled for swinging her legs between the stool bars.  
  
In the small mirror hanging on the wall, the young college woman watched her best friend carefully apply the layers of make up - both natural and colourful - to her features with the most careful precision. Her hair had been curled and twisted into a thick braid to the side of her head, adorned with dark pearls and pins holding it all together. She was still in her baggy pajamas but had her dress sorted out with Ororo's help the day before.  
  
After hearing that the date was going to be a double effort with Remy and Bella, Kitty had become overcome with worry. Illyana had done her the grace of telling her what Bella was **really** like, and after spending several days dealing with her frequent visits, Kitty knew them to be utterly true.  
  
The 'visits' had started off innocently enough. Bella was civil and often complimented Kitty, which made her feel great about herself but after the first few comments, it became clear that she was just saying those things to cover up insults. It got worse after she let it slip that she was Jewish; Bella went full on 'concern troll'.  
  
Now Kitty hated the thought of her, but she wasn't going to let her ruin her date. With all the preparation in place, she felt like she was the prettiest woman on Earth and no snide remark from Bella Donna was going to change that. She could handle the Cajun bitch for one night if that meant helping Piotr with his nervousness. At least they could get away in the park after dinner.  
  
"There ya go, all done."  
  
Kitty perked up and looked at herself in the mirror again, smiling widely at the sight.  
  
"Oh my God, Anna..." Kitty leaned in for a closer look, studying each thick mascara lash, her perfectly trimmed eyebrows, her plush cheeks (she couldn't even see the scratches Lockheed had left last night), each stroke of purple eyeshadow that made her violet eyes shine brighter, and the evenly shaped painted lips that outlined her pearly white grin.  
  
"Ready ta conquer the world, Ah'd say." Anna dusted her hands off and put her tools down. Seeing Kitty so happy put a small smile on her lips; ever since _Lance_ , Kitty had never really been able to see herself as more than average, and with Bella making fun of her for the past few days, it had only gotten worse.  
  
"Oh God, I don't know what to say..." Kitty whispered and turned around to envelope Anna in a tight hug. The Southerner tensed up, not sure what to do with her own hands before settling for patting the top of her friend's head. "Thank you so much, Anna!"

"Hey hey, it's no problem, sugah." Anna replied. "Now lemme go, Ah have a reputation ta uphold."  
  
"Nooo, I must hug the everloving crap out of you."  
  
"Ah swear if ya tell anybody..."  
  
"Nope. This is our lil' secret. You're seriously the best friend I could ever hope for." Kitty let go of Anna and sniffed.  
  
"Even Illyana?"  
  
"Are you kidding me?" Kitty threw her arms up and gawked at Anna. "Illyana's awesome but she's not the one who spent 3 days looking for my favourite lipstick brand in the places she hates the most."  
  
"Not like I could let you go out when you had shit to do." Anna mumbled and checked her nails, rolling her shoulders slowly.  
  
"Hell no!" Kitty bounced around and wrapped her arms around her friend once more. "You **and** Illyana have helped keep me sane since this all started. You're the best!"  
  
"Sugah, I-- Kitty, too tight!"  
  
"Sorry!" Kitty released her grip and Anna took a long deep breath, which only made her lungs burn more.  
  
"Ah'm good now, thanks." She drawled before gently patting Kitty's hair. "Ya jus' concentrate on havin' a good night out now. Once Ah get ya to the restaurant safe, Ah can finally relax."  
  
"I'll make you proud, don't worry." Kitty giggled and rolled her eyes. "As much as you love to pretend you're still Sophomore Goth Girl, Anna, we all know you've got a soft gooey center."  
  
Anna scoffed and frowned at Kitty, cursing herself for not putting more make up on to hide the blush creeping to her cheeks. Now Kitty was smirking. Damn biology!  
  
"No, Ah ain't Sophomore Goth Girl no more," Anna turned on her heel and headed toward the door, hands firmly on her hips. "but Ah am April Ludgate!"  
  
Before Kitty could react, Anna had opened the door and slipped out like a snake.  
  
"You're the one who took my Parks And Rec boxset!" Kitty shouted through the wood. Anna grinned and laughed loud enough for her to hear clearly.  
  
"Ah prefer tha term 'borrowed'!" She shouted back. "Now get ya dress on, the taxi's gonna be here in an hour!"  
  
"Fine! But I'll get you back with my Knope love!"  
  
Anna just laughed again.

 

**0XX0**

 

Over in apartment 19, things were certainly a lot quieter but just as hectic and busy. Lockheed (who had been dropped there by Anna to keep Kitty fur-free) was watching Illyana rush between rooms to find a fresh pair of trousers since the planned pair had a fresh paint stain on them now. Besides the cat sat Piotr himself, dressed in his finest pair of boxers and a loose-fitted yellow shirt.  
  
" _Illyana_ ," He called out in his Russian tongue. " _Calm down_ , _we have plenty of time_."  
  
" _No_ , _we don't_!" Illyana shouted back in the same tongue. She poked her blonde head out of the kitchen with a pout. " _You could help_ , _Piotr_."  
  
" _I would just get in your way_." He replied, running a hand through his short black hair. Lockheed mewled and pawed his arm. Piotr brushed him off. Illyana ran out of the kitchen and into his room for the seventh time.  
  
" _Brother_ , _you have so many dirty clothes_!"  
  
" _Those are my work clothes_ , _Illyana_. _They're supposed to be dirty_."  
  
" _Not this much_!" Illyana, arms full of Piotr's clothes, walked out and dumped them into their laundry basket. She then turned to him and her pout became a full scowl. " _Why are you sitting down_? _You're going to ruin your shirt_."  
  
" _Illyana_ , _you worry too much_ –-"  
  
" _I worry a normal amount_!" She kept frowning as Piotr stood up and gripped her shoulders. " _Why aren't you_?"  
  
" _Trust me_ , _I am worrying_." He replied. Illyana whined and slumped against her taller brother's grasp. " _I'm as nervous as ever_ , _but I'm keeping a calm face_. _Running around like a headless chicken_ \--" Whine. "-- _is not going to help anybody_."  
  
" _It's not easy for me, Piotr_. _So many things could go wrong tonight_ –-"  
  
" _I doubt so_." Piotr bent down face to face with Illyana. " _You've put a lot of work into this with the others and it's going to work out perfectly_."  
  
" _Will you have a full conversation with Katya_?" Piotr flicked her nose playfully and she giggled.  
  
" _I'll work on it_ , _and Remy will be there to help_." Piotr let go and stepped away. Illyana shook her head. As much as Piotr talked about staying calm and collected, they both knew that his nerves took over whenever it came to talking to anyone he didn't know all too well, unless someone was there to help kick-start a conversation. He had gotten much better over the last few years, but there was still a long way to go. Illyana was glad Kitty understood that; hopefully they would last more than one date.  
  
" _Come on_ , _Illyana_. _Let's find the trousers_."

 

**0XX0**

 

"Taxi's here, hurry up!"  
  
The doors between apartments were wide open and Lockheed trotted between them, until Anna swept him up and almost chucked him into their kitchen. He hissed at her and she glared back. Kitty hobbled past them both.  
  
"Where's my shoe, Anna?"  
  
"Why don'tcha have it on?!"  
  
"You kicked it–-"  
  
"Just find it, ya gotta get goin'!"  
  
"I know!" Kitty all but slammed the apartment door behind Anna and the stripe-haired auburn blinked. Just as predicted, Kitty was going insane at the last minute. Hopefully the neighbours wouldn't complain. She grumbled and walked into the apartment opposite, where it was considerably more peaceful. This was hopefully a good sign...  
  
"Lord pray tell meh that ya ready ta go, Piotr." Anna turned a corner into the kitchen and found the Russian siblings together. Illyana held a comb and Kitty's missing shoe while Piotr was going through his phone with her. They looked over to Anna and smiled.  
  
"Ve just go through emergency numbers and such, Anna." Illyana replied, handing the comb to Piotr and skipping around him to head out the way Anna had entered. "And smack Lockheed! He steal everything!"  
  
That explained the damn shoe. Attention whore, always and forever.  
  
Anna turned to Piotr just as he pocketed his phone and put the comb on the counter. She looked him over and smiled to herself. Seems the idea of 'formal casual' had been spread as a memo to everyone tonight-- _Oh God, please don't let him become a 'group'. Lord no...  
  
_ Piotr was currently the definition of 'simple', and it did him wonders. The large open brown blazer with the light yellow shirt, neatly pressed trousers and dress shoes dwarfed the 6ft 5" muscle mass and made him look as harmless as a big puppy. That would help Kitty's nerves at least. All that was out of place was his short, spiked hair. A comb wasn't going to do a thing.  
  
"Ya look marvelous, Piotr." Anna said truthfully. "Kitty's gonna love it. Just wet down ya hair an' you'll be perfect."  
  
With that and a quiet 'thank you' from the Russian, she turned and told him to hurry for the taxi. Anna already had her coat and boots on, so she was all set to go hold the car for the lovebirds. She hoped to be back at the building complex in time to catch the new episode of American Horror Story.  
  
Just as she entered the hallway, apartment 20 opened and Kitty stepped out in all her splendor. Like Piotr, she had kept herself simple and elegant but still very glamorous. Her knee-high purple dress hugged every curve on her, which her golden belt only emphasized but the black shrug made sure that only her calfs and collar bone were left bare. In her hands she squeezed her purse bag tightly.  
  
Anna whistled and laughed when her best friend turned bright red.  
  
"Don't give me that look, ya look wonderful." Anna told her.  
  
"Shaddup." Kitty replied, fiddling with her nails in an attempt to hide the slight smirk on her lips. "It's not _that_ amazing."  
  
"Illyana, are you-– **Wow**." Piotr almost tumbled over his own feet as he appeared behind Anna, taking in the sight of Kitty in full and turning a familiar shade of red as well.  
  
"Told ya, Kit."

 

**0XX0**

 

The drive to the restaurant, ' _Italia_ ', had been...special, to say the least. All attempts at conversation had failed for the first 15 minutes until the driver (a lovely single mother called Marina) started talking about her own daughter also nicknamed Kit, which all somehow led to a discussion about some English painter with a biography film coming out in a few months. Mr. Turnip? Mr. Turner? Neither Anna nor Illyana really cared; they were just there to make sure the date-ees arrived in one piece.  
  
Once they pulled up, the afternoon sun was beginning to sink and the lights were turning on in the street. None of them had been to this side of the city before; college and work didn't allow time for local exploration, but they could easily tell this was the upper class side, if such a thing was possible in a student dominated area of the state. With all the tea lights and lamps hung by the buildings, it actually looked quaint. Pretty, even.  
  
"Here we go, dears. Have a nice meal." Marina chirped as Piotr got out of the car and went over to open Kitty's door. Once they were both out, Anna and Illyana rolled both their windows down and poked their heads out into the autumn air.  
  
"Don't go into the alleyway."  
  
"Bring her home before eleven; Kitty has an early class in tha mornin'."  
  
"Call numbers if anything happen–-"  
  
"We'll be right there 'n' ready to kick ass."  
  
Kitty and Piotr rolled their eyes in unison and groaned. They had heard the same spiel a dozen times all week long and they more-or-less had it etched onto their brain cells. They certainly didn't need to hear it again any time soon.  
  
" _Mon ami_!" Piotr jumped when Remy clasped a hand over his shoulder and shook him roughly. Kitty stepped away and quickly glanced around; no blonde in sight.  
  
"Hello, Remy." Piotr shrugged his hand off, slowly edging towards Kitty and repeating her actions. He relaxed when he saw the same as her. "Thank you for coming."  
  
"Hey, it's my pleasure. I know what dis means t' y'." Remy replied, sticking his thumbs into the pockets of his black suit vest and rolling back on the heels of his own dress shoes.  
  
"Rem!" Illyana cried from her spot. She shoved her arms out of the window and waved them. The Cajun smiled at her and went over, only to be snapped into her vice-like grip. "Don not ruin tonight for Piotr, Frenchie. I vill know."  
  
"I know y' will, _pischouette_." Remy returned the hug and chuckled, leaning down so Illyana wasn't hanging half way out of the car. "I will be a perfect gentleman."  
  
"God, gag meh with a spoon." Anna groaned, loud enough to echo and earn her a few looks from bystanders. And Remy's smug smirk.  
  
"Nice t' see y' outside de cave like a human bein', Roguey." He slipped out of Illyana's arms and stepped over to face Anna. She glared at him from under her white bangs, huffed and blew a stray strand from her face.  
  
"Ha ha, funny. Ah'll be killin' ya first in the vampire apocalypse."  
  
"Can't wait, River Rat."  
  
"Yeah, ya– R– **River Rat**?! Are ya friggin' kiddin' meh?"  
  
Remy bolted backwards before Anna could claw at him and he laughed, hunching his shoulders over without an attempt to hide his delight. Illyana hid her snorting laugh behind her hand.  
  
"I never said I was de creative type, Rogue."  
  
"Oh mah God, you're such an **asshole**." Anna growled and felt that hernia again. Maybe a restraining order on the douche would keep her blood pressure under control, and her sanity in check. Maybe it was too late for the latter. "An' Ah will beat you blind if ya fuck tonight up."  
  
"I already gave m' word t' Illyana that I wouldn'. I ain't dat bad wit' requests." Remy crossed his arms and glanced over to Kitty and Piotr, who were having their own awkward conversation by themselves.  
  
Anna shook her head and huffed again, leaning against the car door. He _had_ proven himself on that end of things, and with all the work she had personally put into tonight, not even Remy could wreck it.  
  
Not-so-old habits die hard, right?  
  
"Uh huh, don' stain ya pants." Anna slumped back into the car seat and sighed heavily, watching as a familiar blonde joined in Kitty and Piotr's discussion.  
  
"I should get goin' t' our table now, gals." Remy reached inside Anna's open window and managed to pat her cheek without losing his arm (Anna resorted to screeching about 'it touched meh!' which made Marina snort). He then went to Illyana and hugged her once more.  
  
"Have fun, Remy. See you tomorrow." She smiled and looked over Remy's shoulder. Her eyes widened and her heart sank at what she saw.  
  
"We will, kiddo. See y'." Remy let go of her and turned around, spotting Bella in her short black dress, red shawl wrapped around her shoulders and high heels beside Piotr and narrowing her eyes like a lioness on the prowl. They both knew that look and Illyana gulped.  
  
" _Mne ochen' zhal'_..." She whispered, holding herself back from clutching onto his red shirt sleeve as Bella glided over to her boyfriend, every click of her heels like another dagger into Illyana's guilty conscious. She pulled herself into the car just as Bella reached them, taking Remy's arm into her own with a death grip, claws and all.  
  
"We'll be fine, Illyana." Remy put his hand over Bella's holding him and kissed her forehead. " _Au revoir_ , _dames_."  
  
Bella just nodded and waved to them, smiling at them with bright red lips. Her eyes didn't shine. Illyana quickly rolled her window back up.  
  
"See ya in Hell, assbutt." Anna called out before rolling her own window up as Marina started driving away. Illyana could have sworn she saw Bella's stalking eyes flash just then.

 

**0XX0**

 

Inside the restaurant, the date group were placed at a large table next to the windows overlooking the sparsely populated street. Thanks to precautions taken days before, their meals were with them before their seats were even warm. Normally, Kitty would have liked to have had a pre-meal conversation to help pass the time and get to better know her companions for the night, but she was thankful for the hindsight; sipping at her appetizer soup allowed her to avoid eye contact with Bella, who was sat opposite her and far too close to Remy to be polite.  
  
The silence between them all was only broken once they had all finished their soups and Remy began to delve into the 'epic tale' of how he and Piotr had first met years ago. Bella rolled her eyes and turned her attention to her phone; Kitty could tell how often she had been subjected to the story. At least she was smart enough to distract herself before getting sucked in.  
  
At least.  
  
"Many moons ago, when Pete first came to the US of A 'n' I was workin' under my _nonc_ , he 'n' de famous Steve Rogers-–"  
  
"Isn't he the guy who paints all those murals in New York?" Kitty asked, tightening her grip on the bread piece in her hands as she pictured the many photos of amazing paintings she had seen online.  
  
" _Da_ ," Piotr replied, taking a piece of bread and using it to soak up the last drops of soup. "among other things. He is very influential."  
  
" _Oui_ , I remember y' bein' so star struck–-"  
  
" _Otebis'_ , I was not."  
  
"Don' t'ink I don't know what dat means, Pete." Remy laughed and nudged the larger Russian. Piotr smirked slightly, which pushed the Cajun to continue the story.  
  
"So, Rogers 'n' my _nonc_ set up a workshop for," He put his hands up in air quotes, "'buddin' artists' t' help 'em set up portfolios for school 'n' college. Piotr came along, all shy 'n' dazzled–-"  
  
Piotr snorted and Kitty giggled into her mouthful of bread.  
  
"–- _Nonc_ couldn' get a word outta 'im, so he sent _moi_ in t' break him down. A few sketches later an' he looked 'bout ready t' murder me."  
  
"Wait wait," Kitty blinked and rubbed her temples. "You two hated each other? _How_."  
  
"He hated _moi_. I didn' like him. Big difference."  
  
"I did not _hate_ you, Remy." Piotr said in defense. "I severely loathed you. 'Big difference'."  
  
Both girls chuckled and Kitty stopped herself short, not wanting to bring herself closer to the eavesdropping blonde opposite her. So much for ignoring them.  
  
"Fiiine, statement retracted." Remy rolled his eyes and then gave Piotr a dirty look. "Point bein', we didn' get along at first, or at all 'til Pete's first exhibit under m' management. Took 'bout a year or two but we're de best of friends now that I'm de reason he gets any work."  
  
Remy ducked to avoid Piotr's fist and laughed at his glare. Bella tucked her phone away and ran a hand through her boyfriend's hair, muttering under her breath in Cajun French. Remy whispered back to her and she ruffled him lightly. They laughed, and Kitty almost believe they were, above all else, normal.

 

**0XX0**

 

The main course arrived to them not long after, spreading a strong aroma of well-cooked salmon, lamb and chicken with thick spices, sauces and rich cheeses melted on top around their corner of the restaurant. Even with the buttery bread still lingering on their tongues, all of their stomachs rumbled at the sight laid in front of them. As they were sprinkling salt, vinegar and gravy onto their dishes, Remy excused himself to the bathroom.  
  
Once he was out of earshot, Kitty put her knife down and looked around to Piotr.  
  
"I feel kinda stupid for asking, but what _is_ his job?"  
  
"Remy organises art galleries for companies and artists, on commission." Bella answered, slicing her meat into slender pieces and drizzling gravy onto them with acute accuracy so that none of it would touch the vegetables. Kitty held back her urge to wrinkle her nose.  
  
"Thanks, that's interesting..." She said instead, doing her best to keep her tone polite and civil. Bella just smirked and picked up her fork.  
  
" _Oui_ , his work does have several perks to it. Such a blessin' he didn' waste years in college t' get dis far."  
  
Good God, she wasn't even trying anymore! Kitty bristled much like her namesake and only bit down on the comeback sitting on the tip of her tongue when Piotr asked her to pass him a bread stick. She obliged him and saw a warning in his eyes. Right, they were on a date. In public. She could curse Bella's attitude when she was back in the apartment and in the company of her friends.  
  
Kitty exhaled slowly and began to eat, if only to make an excuse to not talk any more. Piotr, in a moment of miraculous social courage, began to ask Kitty about her college course. She knew that Illyana had probably told him as much, but Bella had zero idea about her scholarship or about her having a record-breaking GPA in the college's Computer Programming course for almost 2 years in a row. Anna had often joked that she could force Apple and Microsoft into bankruptcy in her sleep if she really wanted to.  
  
The look on the blonde's face when she told Piotr about her latest side project of completely rewriting the IT lab's entire network to filter out hacker IPs so that they would they could only access an isolated server without harming the security of the main servers, was absolutely priceless.

 

**0XX0**

 

When the sun began to darken and dip dangerously low in the sky, the four of them skipped out on dessert and the Cajuns led them towards the park Kitty had only heard stories about from Anna. Thankfully, it was only just down the street from the restaurant and the walk meant that some space could be put between the two couples.  
  
Kitty and Piotr walked side by side as they entered the green park through an archway of red and green vines. Some tea lights and lanterns had been hung up, but none were lit yet as the sun still glared through the gaps between branches and leaves on every tree they passed. Some feet ahead of them, Remy and Bella walked at a slow pace with their arms wrapped around each other and whispering Cajun sweet nothings to each other.  
  
Kitty held onto her purse and crossed her arms, mindlessly rubbing her arms slowly as she and Piotr took in their surroundings. They spared each other a glance every other step, only managing to catch each other's eyes when the sky melted into a dark mix of orange and purple clouds. The lights hanging from the branches and benches began to light up one by one, creating an almost heavenly pathway for them to follow. Piotr took his gaze off Kitty when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and looked at the message on its screen.  
  
[[ _ask her about dinner, couillon_.]]  
  
[[ _What about it?]]  
  
_ [[... _r u serious? what she liked best, if the fish was nice, did she like the service WHICH SHE SHOULD I PAID FOR IT !]]  
  
_ [[ _Calm down, I get the point.]]  
  
_ [[ _hurry up, Casablanca before u lose ur chance_.]]  
  
[[ _Learn to spell_.]]  
  
[[ _over my dead illiterate body, petey_. _now make a smooth move_.]]  
  
A stone flew past Piotr's shoulder and he looked up to see Remy motioning to him, eyes wide and hands practically flailing. Bella stepped away to avoid getting hit. The Russian narrowed his icy eyes at the Cajun, who just shrugged and turned back around.  
  
"Everything alright, Piotr?" Kitty asked, raising an eyebrow at him and playing with the end of her braid, pulling out the pearl pins and loosening the ties. Her hair was starting to take its natural form again, and Piotr felt the heat in his cheeks and ears.  
  
" _D-Da_ , _da_. Everything is great." Piotr nodded and stuck his phone deep into his pocket, trying to think of a way to distract his hands. "You?"  
  
"Hmm? Oh, yeah!" Kitty perked up and smiled sweetly, keeping close to the taller man. "Dinner was really good, I liked it. And the food too."  
  
Piotr chuckled and smiled back, which only made Kitty's cheeks rosier. He elected to ignore the buzzing phone in his pocket to get a longer moment with her delighted expression. It was probably just Remy trying to give his 'suggestions'. Piotr knew what he was doing. Kind of.  
  
"I'm glad you enjoyed it, Katya."  
  
"We've still got the rest of the evening to enjoy." Kitty rolled her neck and laughed. "From what Anna's told me about the lake here, it's gonna be amaziiiiing."  
  
Piotr chuckled again and took a deep breath, sorting through his thoughts and re-translating everything twice over. "I've heard the same."  
  
"Think you'll get any inspiration?" Kitty gently nudged his arm with her elbow and Piotr almost tripped over his own feet. Damn, he hadn't prepared himself for questions like that. Illyana had only gone over 'date basics' with him and hadn't even suggested that Kitty would ask about his artwork at all and oh why can't he say something so he doesn't look so stupi– "You could totally do a watercolour painting with the lights to go with the...water, in the lake... That sounded better in my head."  
  
" _Net_ , _net_ it's a good idea!" Piotr ran a hand through his hair and then rubbed the back of his neck, trying to smile just like her. Sure, watercolours to depict a water scene was an overused cliche but he could do with the practice in the medium. And Kitty was trying to get involved with his hobbies, if what Illyana had told him about her lack of knowledge of the artisans had been any kind of clue.  
  
"I'm sure you'll make it a great one." Kitty rubbed her hands together, trying not to shiver from the cold breeze playing around her ankles. "I saw some of your recent work; it's amazing."  
  
"Y-You think so?"  
  
"Yeah!" She cleared her throat and repeated herself in a hushed voice. "You've got great talent."  
  
"It's more to do with years of practice than talent..."  
  
"I'll believe that when I see it." She smirked, rolling her eyes behind her eyelids.  
  
"I still have examples from my early years." He gulped and pursed his lips upon realising what he had just implied. "I-If you vant to see them, th-that is."  
  
Kitty bit down on her lip but it hardly did anything to hide her beaming grin and the look of absolute delight on her face when she nodded to him. Piotr himself relaxed and picked up his pace, with Kitty matching his footfall easily. As the sky darkened to red and navy blue, the air became clearer and the lights brighter. They took in the sights and smells with naive awe, staring up into the high arcs of the trees when Remy was shouting at them.  
  
"Lovebirds, get up 'ere! Y' gon' miss it!"  
  
In a moment of madness, Kitty surged forward and pulled Piotr along by his wrist, running toward the Cajun couple standing over a white wood railing that accompanied the sounds of tranquil and serene waves splashing against the sloping shores of the park lake. Remy leaned against his crossed arms on the wood, while Bella was turned away from him and exhaling a long cloud of smoke from her newly-lit cigarette. She relaxed back with every breath she took and smiled without a care in the world.  
  
Kitty and Piotr reached them within moments and the young woman gasped loudly when she finally caught sight of the sunset hovering over the lake surface. Light bounced off every edge and shone in a rainbow of dark colours that bounced off the low hanging clouds drifting around the shimmering sun and faded moon opposite. Oranges, reds, pinks, yellows, purples and greys mixed together in layered strokes, contrasting against the almost white sun in a way that only nature could create and was the envy of every creative mind to have gazed upon it.  
  
Remy watched the couple as Kitty stood on the tips of her toes to get a better look over the water, pointing to a pair of waterfowl swimming toward the other end of the water bank and trying to get a picture of the swans...until they swam closer and the four of them saw it was a pair of Canadian geese. Kitty shrieked and almost dropped her phone into the water. Piotr caught it and the group made an appropriate run when a gaggle of geese began to move over to them.  
  
They zipped down the cobbled pathway until Bella pulled them to a stop at a bench, sat down and gently massaged her ankles, grumbling under her breath about stupid geese and how running in heels was a death trap. Remy sat next to her, wiping a sweat off his brow and rubbing her back slowly.  
  
"Better than gettin' attacked by de geese, eh? I'll give y' a foot rub later, _petite amie_." He winked at her and smirked, brushing a lock of blonde hair out of her eyes. Bella nodded and hummed, closing her eyes and digging her thumb into her muscle. Remy sighed softly and glanced over his shoulder to Kitty and Piotr.  
  
Kitty was sitting against the armrest of the bench, covering her mouth with one hand as the other held onto Piotr, who wore a laughing smile and was doing his best not to double over.  
  
"O-Oh my God, I've never run so fast!" Kitty squeaked and snorted, bending over herself. Piotr nodded in agreement and inhaled deeply in an effort to calm down. However, Kitty's giggles were just bringing more laughter to him.  
  
"V-Why from geese? They would not h-harm us–-"  
  
"A-Are you kidding? Geese are evil creatures; they smell fear!"  
  
Piotr bent his head down and Kitty followed him for another burst of giggles bubbling in her chest, not caring about how red their faces would be once they calmed down later. Remy smiled at them, pressing the edge of his palm into Bella's shoulder blades.  
  
 _Mission accomplished._

 

**0XX0**

 

The door clicked shut and the locks set themselves in place automatically as Remy and Bella made way into their abode. Remy shook his hair out and tugged his shoes off, sighing in relief when his feet were able to stretch again. In the corner of his eye, he caught Bella unceremoniously kick her heels off in the kitchen and slam her purse onto the counter. He rubbed his eyes and evened his breath; it was best to stay stoic when Bella became upset. He should have thought of this earlier...  
  
"Belle, I can still give ya dat foot rub if y' want," Remy said loud and clear, approaching their small and bright kitchen area with his gaze focused on the floor. He could see her feet by the counter, reaching up. She was muttering in Cajun under her breath again, but he couldn't catch a word of it. He risked a glance up at her face. "We can run a bath, dim de lights 'n' relax–-"  
  
A sharp slap across his face cut him off.  
  
"You did it _again_." Remy could taste blood on his tongue. "Y' went behind my back _again_!"  
  
A thin cut shaped in the arc of a nail bled across his cheek. He put a hand up to hide the red.  
  
"I've _told_ ya! How can I trust y' when y' do dis to me?!"  
  
His wide eyes stared at a tile. His bangs hung over them like a blind. A million thoughts raced through his mind: _she was getting better what did I do merde I thought they were fine God it hurts it was going so well why won't it stop hurting-_ –  
  
"Remy, _LOOK AT ME_!"  
  
Dull brown eyes moved to look up into piercing hazel ones. Gradually, he lifted his head and dropped his hand, unable to pull away from her narrowed gaze. The red dripped onto the marble.  
  
Bella jumped back into the counter, hands flying to her mouth and eyes wide, brimming with tears. " _O-Oh, mon Dieu_...R-Remy, I–-"  
  
She reached out to him and he pulled back. Her eyes flashed.  
  
"Why are y' scared of me, Remy? Y'know I can't help dis. It's not m' fault!"  
  
" _N_ - _Non_ , I-–" A sting in his jaw flinched him and he winced, holding the sore bone again. Avoiding her eyes again.  
  
Delicate fingers pulled his away and Remy bit down on his tongue. Bella pressed her lips to his cheek and another ache rolled through him. She whispered to him, and he nodded even though he heard none of it. He tried to even his breath as more more thoughts sped through his head, all screaming at him and refusing to be shut out one more time.  
  
As Bella took his arm and lead him towards their bedroom, her words filled with promises to take care of him and keep him safe, one thought cried out at him the loudest.  
  
 _Why_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow, I'm going to die hahaaaa.
> 
> *Ahem* Anyway, thanks for waiting and reading the latest chapter! Lots of references to the Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel comic series because I love them both. Piotr and Illyana's scene in the beginning of the chapter was spoken entirely in Russian, but I wrote it as English so you could understand it, hence the italics.
> 
> Translations:
> 
> Bonjour – Hello  
> ami – Friend  
> moi – Me/My  
> homme – Man  
> Oui – Yes  
> Mon ami – My friend  
> pischouette – Little girl  
> Mne ochen' zhal' – I'm so sorry  
> Au revoir, dames – Goodbye, ladies  
> nonc – Uncle (I use genuine Cajun French for Remy and Bella. There will be no 'oncles' in this fic)  
> Da – Yes  
> Otebis' – Fuck off  
> couillon – Idiot  
> Net – No  
> petite amie – Sweetheart  
> Non – No  
> merde – Shit  
> Oh mon Dieu – Oh my God


	7. Thanksgiving Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another day, another chapter! Ha, if only I could update that much. It is now Thanksgiving in-universe and everybody's making plans 8D
> 
> I am working on an official timeline for this fic on Tiki Toki, which I'll be showing off once I've got the years between 1989 and 2014 filled in with canon events. As the fic goes on, I'll also be updating the timeline.
> 
> Anyway, let's get to the fun!

"So, what are you guys doing for Thanksgiving?"

Three heads popped up from their dinner plates to stare at Kitty from all sides of the coffee table-turned dining area. The brunette chewed on her crunchy cheese salad and stroked down Lockheed's neck, smiling at his loud purrs. Illyana, Piotr and Anna looked between them before turning back to Kitty, munching on their own meals in the middle of the Rasputin apartment. Anna nodded.

"Ah talked to Kurt the other day," she answered, swallowing her bacon bits. "We're gonna meet at the border and head up to Dad's for Thanksgiving, Canadian edition. Evan's staying with his parents this year."

"Kenny still doesn't have a passport?" Kitty asked. Anna shook her head, ignoring her friend when she whined loudly and slumped over. "I haven't seen her in forever! Skype isn't the saaaame."

"Don' act like it's the end of tha world, Kit." Anna patted Kitty's shoulder and shooed a sniffing Lockheed away from their food. Illyana, on Kitty's other side, copied and offered a small smile to her friend.

"I'm not. It's just unfair." Kitty sighed, pulling her beloved feline into her lap. He mewled and rubbed his face into her arm. Anna nudged them both and then pointed her fork at them.

"Good lord almighty, ya such a drama queen. Y'know my Dad 'n' 'Ro will be happy ta give ya a bunk for a week."

"When I don't have to be in Illinois between semesters." Kitty pouted more and stroked Lockheed's cheeks, leaning into Illyana's shoulder rub. She loved her parents - more than anything!- but she sometimes resented how uptight they could be with her and the rules set on her life during school breaks. It was a condition they had made her agree to so she could go to this state college after the gap year she, Anna and their friends spent volunteering in Wakanda...without their prior permission.

Not her greatest moment, admittedly.

"They'll forgive ya soon enough." Anna chewed her next mouthful loudly, waving her fork around. "Just show 'em your grades for the first semester, it'll blow their minds."

"Only if I keep them up for the rest of the year. Again." Kitty poked at her food and held Lockheed away from the plate. "Not like I can't, but it's stressful to find time to work when I'm trying to help pay the rent too."

"Got that right." Anna grumbled, letting uncomfortable silence sit at the makeshift table as she remembered her last work shift that consisted of some senile Harkness lady demanding some magic witch books for 2 hours and apparently theirs just weren't good enough for her oh-so professional tastes. She needed the paycheck, she needed the paycheck, she needed the paycheck...

"There is no Thanksgiving back home," Piotr announced loudly just as he finished up his own meal, setting his utensils aside. "so Illyana and I shall be staying until Christmas."

"On your own?" Kitty shrieked and Illyana nodded, sneaking a grate of cheese to Lockheed. Kitty gaped and shook her head wildly. "No friggin' way! You can't spend the holidays alone!"

"It's fine, Katya."

" **No** , it isn't." Kitty tried to reach over to Piotr across the table, but only got half way. Illyana covered her brother's mouth for her. "Thanksgiving should be spent with the people you care about."

"Kitty's right," Anna pushed her plate away and stretched her back out, picking out loose food bits from her teeth with her tongue. "You should really spend the time with friends before bein' dragged home for Christmas 'n' New Year."

"Oooh, Kitty's our friend!" Illyana squealed off her blonde head and Kitty beamed brightly. Piotr glanced at the working brain gears before his eyes fell to Anna. She shrugged.

"Your problem."

"Oh my god, that's the best idea ever!" The two girls began to squeal loudly and the Russian giant squeezed his eyes shut. He was pretty certain 'meeting the parents' came after more than three dates. He would need to reel them back a bit-

"Kitty, ya gotta think things through before makin' plans." Anna drawled, cutting through the squeals as she picked up her plate and moved over to the kitchen. Piotr scrambled to his feet and quickly cut in front of her with his own plate.

"Oh, I should call Mom and Dad!" Kitty went digging into her pockets and pulled out the device. Illyana scooted closer and giggled as she watched the dialing. Anna turned away from them, muttering under her breath.

Inside the kitchen, Piotr stood over the sink and scrubbed away at the plates diligently. Anna came up beside him and dumped her plate into the water nonchalantly.

"Another thin' ta know 'bout Kitty: Ya gotta be firm with her when she's got a bad idea in her head 'n' ya don't like it."

"Much like Illyana; she get idea and run away with it," Piotr replied, washing off her plate without second thought. "I know how to deal with it."

"Maybe, but if ya gonna date Kitty, ya can't deal with her the same way as you deal with your sister." Anna patted him on the shoulder and jumped up to sit on the counter top, watching Piotr movements slow as the gears worked in his head.

"Then...I vill accompany Illyana to Illinois." He pulled the plates out of the water and shook the suds off his hands.

"That's not what Ah meant-"

"I know, Rogue." Piotr hushed her in quiet tones, leaning against the sink counter and looking over his shoulder to the doorway. "Oh my own, Kitty would accept my refusal, but Illyana is involved. I cannot force her to stay here...I can't let her go alone either."

"She'd be with Kitty," Anna kicked her legs out idly and hunched her shoulders over. "but Ah get ya. I wouldn' feel right lettin' any of mah lil' sisters run off across a country they don' know with their new friends."

Growing up as the kid of Logan Howlett came with many perks, one of which being that he didn't do any of the 'over-protective father/male family member' bullcrap other girls were privy to in their families. Her Dad knew that she, Laura and Jubilee could take care of themselves perfectly well in any situation; he had made sure to get them trained in self-defense and common sense.

Except for Kendall. Because she was 5 years old, and in Ororo's books the minimum appropriate age to learn martial arts was 7.

But even so, they all still looked out for each other; Anna especially. She had several years on them, as well as wisdom from being a dumb teenager who thought she knew how the world worked and too cocky to change her mind. The girls would think one way and she'd drag them back to safety before they got hurt too badly. They'd thank her one day.

" _Net_ , this is different..." Piotr's murmur brought Anna out of her daydreaming and she shook the old thoughts out. "I love my _sestra_ , and I trust her but..."

"Yeah, you can never be sure."

Piotr nodded. "She's my responsibility here. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened."

"Let Kitty know." Anna said quietly, gripping his shoulder gently. "She'll understand. Certainly make sure her parents know; it'll score points with them."

Piotr's face blanked and he groaned loudly. Anna chuckled, trying to hide her smirk. "We're not an item or, or _**anything** _ yet! After five dates? Maybe. Not _three_."

"The early bird gets the worm, my dear Watson."

Piotr groaned again as Anna laughed while Illyana and Kitty let out a huge squeal of 'Thanksgiving trip!'.

**0XX0**

_Niagara Falls International Airport, Niagara Falls, New York._

Airports weren't the worst places on Earth, but they sure as hell weren't the best. Maybe she was just used to the hubble bubble of the lobbies, or had learnt to tune out the TSA agents either side of the border, but Anna barely saw any reason to fuss over the places like Kurt and Evan often did. Unless there was flight delays. Those could go screw themselves hard until they were numb and bleeding for making her late.

Currently, the striped haired woman was stretched out over a bench, flicking through her iPod playlists and contemplating whether or not to re-enact a Feist music video on the moving walkway 20 feet on her right. That brought out a few pleasant memories from over the years: 17 years ago, on her first trip over the border with her father; 6 years ago, the day they brought Jubilee home with them after months of adoption procedures; 4 years ago, when they moved up to Alberta days after graduation; 3 years ago, when she and her friends had gone to the Wakanda nation to do volunteer work for a year between graduation and college...

They had wanted to do something important and flashy for their resumes all together before parting ways, and their biology teacher Ororo Munroe had connections in the country and thus was able to pull some strings with some _really_ high-level people to get them the work.

Seriously, there was a huge welcoming party, people talked about the friggin' royal family around them and, even though Wakanda had the best economic status in the whole of Africa, she doubted regular tourists got such fancy hotel rooms. The only downside to it all was the stupid civil war that broke out while they were there. Jean and Scott had been so worried for their safety, even arranging to get some of them out of the country in secret, but most of them had to stay and they were protected the whole time by the group leaders.

"Anna!"

Jolted out of memory lane, Anna snapped her head up and scanned the area, where her eyes fell onto the dork known only as her little half-brother. Kurt Darkholme - big hazel eyes, dark hair, pointy chin, dumb khaki shorts and all - was striding toward her from TSA's probing station with a huge suitcase in his hand and a bigger smile on his face. She returned it in kind and went to hug him tightly.

"Hey, Kurt." She greeted, holding him back at arm's length. "I haven' seen ya in forever."

"Jou saw me three months ago, sis." He rolled his eyes and nudged her shoulder. He must have been talked to some old Catholic school friends lately if his old accent was slipping through; ever since he had moved over to Bayville to be closer to his recently-discovered half-sister at age 14, he had slowly been fading out the strong German accent with a generic New Yorker one. Evan's influence, of course.

"How's college been, dorko?" Anna asked, taking Kurt's heavy suitcase with her 'freakishly freaky arm strength' (thank you, Miss Pryde) and leading him over to the luggage belt.

"American university is the _worst_." Kurt whined and buried his head into his hands, trying not to scream through his clenched teeth. Anna patted his back.

"We're terrible, Ah know. Ya lucky it's bein' paid for ya."

"Ja, by Azazel." Kurt scowled at the thought of his father, a man he shared many features with - from his dark hair, long nose and light brown skin that got him glares from TSA. Though she hated it, Anna often thought that Kurt loved all the things he got from their mother, just as she loved all the things she got from her father in the gene pool. "He's trying to **buy** my love, like it vill make up for 15 years of no contact."

"Don' focus on that crap, Kurt. Just be thankful you can get an education in this damned country without worryin' 'bout debts."

"And zen get stuck working in KFC vith Masters under my belt."

They both laughed and walked away from the luggage belt, ignoring the stares from those around them. It was an undeniable truth -they'd both be in dead-end jobs in 10 years that had nothing to do with their diplomas, but the college experience of learning and enjoying the last days of their youth was all worth it.

"How's Evan been? 'Ro's not happy 'bout him skippin' this year." Anna slipped her hands into her coat pockets while Kurt shrugged in response.

"He's going up vith his parents for Christmas. Don't tell; it's going to be a surprise." Anna nodded. "But he's been ze same. Still thinks skateboarding is cool und Pepsi is putting poison in their drinks."

"Oh, our favourite conspiracy nut." Anna sighed out, smiling anyway. Damn that Callisto woman for putting ideas into his head. It'd practically ruled over him in high school. All the times they had to drag him out of the police station...

"He's in line for a job at ze local community center though. Vants to be an assistant coach to ze basketball team." Kurt slumped down with his sister onto a line of plastic seats and deflated.

"Really?" Her eyebrows shot up. "Good for him. Another Christmas surprise?"

"He'll know for certain by then, so ja."

A loud digital voice over the PA systems interrupted them with a call to board their Canadian flight. Anna grabbed her carry on bag and pulled Kurt onto his feet, hitting him over the head when he whined about just sitting down. The two siblings rushed over with their tickets, excitement running high.

Thanksgiving was going to be awesome.

**0XX0**

_O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois._

It was times like this that Kitty knew God was real and working modern miracles. One of them being her parents allowing Illyana and Piotr to stay for the holiday. Another was Piotr agreeing to come.

On his own conditions.

Anna had told her not to get ahead of herself with the plan and to talk to her not-yet-boyfriend about how he felt. Piotr had been supportive of Illyana making the trip, and said in no uncertain terms that he would accompany her to keep her safe (Illyana had tried to protest but one stern look from her brother ended that quickly). He even got on the phone with her parents, telling them with brutal honesty that yes, he was dating their daughter; no, they weren't 'official'; they would not be left alone in a room together during their stay - Illyana would be their third wheel whenever they weren't in the house; yes, he was an atheist, and he would never even think of belittling Kitty or anyone for their beliefs; he was an art school graduate with a few galleries and exhibits in the state, and one in New York City; he hadn't painted nudes since life drawing class 3 years ago, yaddah, yaddah, yaddah, yaddah...

How he managed to keep his calm for the whole 2 hours of questioning was a mystery to Kitty. How much the phone bill was going to cost was not.

This all weighed on the young Pryde's mind as the three traveled across the country to her home state (even more so than thoughts of Lockheed's well being back at the apartment with the Robinsons looking after him), with only Illyana's distractions keeping her occupied for all those hours. Kitty was glad for it; it kept her selfish, nagging head-voice at the back of her mind - the one that wanted Piotr to be less noble in his intentions.

 _No_. She was going to keep herself level about this, dammit. She was 22 and in her first serious relationship since Lance; she couldn't put it at risk by acting like some lovesick puppy around her parents. Piotr was being mature, responsible - she would too. She had an idea or two up her sleeve for how to do just that.

The airports, however, were testing her...

Her mood was immediately lifted when the three of them landed in Chicago and she saw her parents waiting for them, sign and all.

"Mom, Dad!"

The three Prydes crashed together in a tight hug, leaving the Rasputins on the awkward sidelines. Once they separated, Illyana pounced onto Kitty and held her hand out to the parents.

" _Privet_! _Menya zovut_ Illyana."

Terri and Carmen Pryde stared at the offered hand for moments before Terri took it and gave it a firm shake.

"You...must be Lana. Kitty's told us about you. I'm Terri, and my husband is Carmen."

Their daughter smiled and pulled her blonde friend off her back. Piotr moved to stand next to his sister, piling their luggage on one arm and offering a warm smile to them all.

"Illyana's just very excited to be here, and when she's like this, she forgets her English."

The blonde's face perked up and she covered her mouth, flushed red in the cheeks. Piotr put his free hand on her shoulder and muttered in Russian to her. She calmed and smiled once again.

"It's so amazing to be here. I can't vait for turkey!"

"We're happy to have you." Terri replied. "Kitty hasn't made a lot of new friends in college."

"Mooooooom." Kitty gritted her teeth, cheeks flushed bright red and her lips in a big pout. "I _have_ made friends! There's Amara, Tabitha..."

"Are they coming for dinner too?" Carmen teased, wrapping an arm around his only daughter. His pale blue eyes shined in comparison to Kitty's glowering ones.

"This is a special occasion of me being a decent human being and not letting my new friends spend the holiday alone." Kitty held her head up high and poked her nose up skyward, pouting even more if it were possible.

"And we're very proud of you for making the effort, darling." Carmen ruffled her hair and laughed from the pits of his stomach, wrinkling the age bags under his eyes and almost making his glasses fall off the perch of his roman nose.

"We do warn you," His wife addressed the Russians with an uneasy smile. "our family Thanksgiving isn't what you'll see in movies or on TV. There's no turkey, for one thing."

Illyana let out a squeaky whine as her face dropped and her shoulders slumped. Kitty tensed up and almost slapped herself. How could she forget to mention that?! Well, almost 10 years of habit might've made it slip her mind...

"No matter." Piotr said, shifting on his feet and hiding his own swell of disappointment. "It vill be interesting to learn new customs."

"Oh, Kit where _do_ you find these people?" Terri took her daughter's arm and patted Piotr's with a gentle motherly touch. "You're honestly too pure for this world."

Illyana and Piotr shared a look as the Prydes began to walk away through the lobby before quickly following after them. Kitty slipped from her mother's grasp and fell back into step with Piotr.

"I've been thinking about this week for a few hours," she spouted to him, crossing her arms behind her back. "and I gotta say, what you're doing for Illyana here makes me feel really lucky that I'm friends with you."

"Thank you," he replied with a small smile. "for inviting us as well. I'm glad I'm friends with you too."

Kitty laughed at his light-hearted and almost sarcastic tone of voice. His smile grew.

"But I feel that wasn't the point."

"You're smarter than you look, Piotr. Drats." She laughed again, breathing the hot sweaty air through her nose. "I propose an idea that I hope is as clear to you as it is in my head."

"I vill consider it."

She elbowed him. "For this week, I propose that we keep dating off the table completely."

"...Da?"

"Like..." She waved her hands around and bit her lip, trying to catch her runaway thoughts. "I'm really happy we're friends and we go out on dates together, but I don't want that to be the ONLY thing about us. Y'know? Having a relationship with you would be the most awesome thing in the world, but I also wanna be your best friend, or at least a good one, and I think this week would be a good place to start."

Piotr watched Kitty from his peripheral vision in fascination as she rambled on. In all the weeks he had known her, he never expected such a concept for them from HER. To be fair, he had mostly seen her interacting with Illyana, but even from Anna (or can he call her Anna now? He'd ask later) he didn't get the impression that this was even possible. He found himself warming to the idea of seeing a new side to this young woman; he wanted to know everything about her.

"Did you get all that?" Kitty asked, looking up at Piotr.

"Da, I did, and I agree vith you. I realise ve don't know each other as well as ve should, and I want to be your 'good friend' before anything is serious between us." He answered, smiling more widely now. Kitty beamed with glee, almost dancing on the spot.

"Oh thank God you're an awesome guy, Pete. Here's a brand new Kitty fact for you to start off: I love the Muppets, and I've been calling you Mr. Snuffleupagus to Anna for a few months now." She admitted as they walked through the revolving doors and out to the packed car park.

"I've never seen the Muppets, but I know he's from Sesame Street."

"He's STILL a Muppet, no ma- Wait, you've never seen the Muppets?! Oh my God, you're so lucky Mom and Dad have Netflix!"

Kitty gripped Piotr's wrist and ran forward, making him nearly drop everything and yelp in fear of his life. Illyana and the parent Prydes watched from the open doors of the family van as the couple stumbled towards them in a heap of luggage and waving limbs.

This could prove to be interesting.

**0XX0**

_Pryde residence, Deerfield, Illinois._

Pulling up the old driveway and heading up to their home had never before seemed like the perfect thing after an hour journey in thick traffic from Chicago to Terri and Carmen Pryde, until today.

Now, Kitty had never been a quiet child or teenager, but she had never done a banshee impression for an hour straight either. Her high moods and squealing had been reserved for her friends in the deep corners of her bedroom, not the company of her parents. Today was different on that front all together.

For the whole trip, Kitty, Illyana and Piotr had lounged in the backseats and talked non-stop about Muppets, their favourite foods, old Disney flicks, the wonders of Chipotle, ring doughnuts versus filled doughnuts, and just about everything else under the sun.

The conversation turned towards sandwiches and pasta dishes while the three got their luggage out of the trunk and up towards the house. Illyana eyed the front of the building with childish wonder before Piotr managed to drag her through the front door behind the Prydes.

"-And I'll have to make you this great grilled chee-EEAAAAGHHH!"

A small lanky figure jumped out onto Kitty's back and wrapped their arms around her tightly as she flailed about and screeched in the hallway of her home. Piotr dropped his bag and marched towards the mess of limbs just in time to watch the two separate.

"H-H-Hooo, my god! You're _so_ easy to scare, Kit Kat!"

Kitty froze and spun around, hands over her open mouth. Piotr and Illyana stood behind her as guards, taking a good look at the assaulter that Terri and Carmen weren't reacting to.

She was quite short, about Illyana's height, with a lanky build that shouted prepubescent boy rather than young woman (they could only tell the difference because of the revealing green v-neck she wore under a bark brown leather jacket and navy skinny jeans). Long black hair tied into two braids with red and green ribbons hung over her shoulders, short bangs framing her copper brown, plump face that was brightened by round hazel eyes and a smirk stretching for miles.

"Oh my God, Dani!" Kitty squealed, almost doubling over as she rushed into the open arms of her best friend of 7 years.

"Kit Kat!" Dani screamed back and she grappled Kitty into the tightest hug ever imagined. Terri stepped over to them, brushing back her ginger curls and dusting down the flowery cardigan hanging off her shoulders.

"Like our surprise, dear?" She asked, not batting an eye when her daughter exploded out of Dani's arms.

"This was you?! Oh my God!"

"You've been doing so well with your college work and keeping your promise to us, even though we know you hate it, your father and I decided to invite Dani here for Thanksgiving." Terri explained, watching Kitty with delight as she called her thanks to her father back in the kitchen.

"By the looks of it, I shouldn't have bothered." Dani moved around Kitty and came up to the Rasputins, who had resigned themselves to the peanut gallery. "We're gonna have to sleep on the floor, oh noooo."

"We arranged this before we knew about the change in plans; we didn't want to throw you off, so think of this as an extra treat." Carmen said as he walked back to them, handing Terri a steaming mug of peppermint tea. "Pete can stay in the big spare room. The girls can sleep down here or in Kitty's room."

"Oooh, sleepover!" Illyana said happily, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I hawve not had sleepover in years!"

"Better hole up in my room then." Kitty adjusted her hair, smirking and only just barely coming down from the high of the surprise. "Less to clean up if Illyana decides to show off her ballet moves."

"Ballet!" Dani and Illyana cheered in unison, bringing up a round of giggles between the girls. Kitty grabbed onto their arms and dragged them over to the stairwell.

Terri, Carmen and Piotr were left in their dust, staying in silence until they heard a door upstairs slam shut. Piotr picked up the bags that had been dropped, shifting on his feet and trying to keep his anxiety at bay. He could do this. He could talk to them just fine...

"Would you like something to drink, Pete?" Carmen asked, one foot already poking toward the kitchen. Terri smiled softly at him and sipped at her tea.

" _Ne_ \- No, no. I am good." Piotr resisted the urge to rub the back of his neck or bow his head down. He had a few things to do actually; Kitty would need reminding to call the neighbour pet-sitting Lockheed; he needed to call Remy to make sure he was alright; check that Illyana had her evening vitamin pills... No, focus!

"I'll show you to the guest room then." Terri gave her mug to Carmen and kicked her shoes away, showing off a mismatched pair of socks that distracted Piotr from his derailing train of nervous thought and brought him back to reality. He focused on the spring pastel colours of the walls and carpets as he followed her up the white staircase, spiraling through the decorated halls until they reached a blank white door.

Terri opened it and stepped aside, revealing to Piotr a bare canvas of a room. There was a king-sized double bed pressed up against the wall in the middle of the room, a rug covering most of the wooden floor, a small bedside table and a few lamps offering the tiniest bit of light. The white and dark greens of the bed sheets and walls offered little personality, but there was still a warmth to it that Piotr had not expected. It would do for the week.

"Thank you, Mrs. Pryde." Piotr nodded his head to the older woman and she just waved her hand at him. She took a bag off him (the purple one obviously belonging to Illyana) and promised to give it to his sister while he got comfortable.

"I doubt the girls will be coming out of that room until dinner. You just enjoy yourself while the peace lasts." She laughed heartily and left Piotr to sit on the end of the bed, going through his phone messages. Not one of them had come from his Cajun best friend and the implications as to why made him frown. Taking a deep breath, he wiped the messages and missed calls aside and speed-dialed Remy.

He held the phone up to his ear, running a hand through his hair, listening to the ring tone go once, twice...

Then end.

Piotr took the phone away and glanced at the screen, spying a new text message. He opened it.

[[ _can't talk, ami. bella's asleep_ ]]

Well that explained a lot.

[[ _Just checking up on you. We haven't heard from you since the double date_ ]]

[[ _been patchin up with bella since then. she wasnt happy_ ]]

[[ _Did she do anything?_ ]]

[[ _no_ ]]

[[ _Is that the truth?_ ]]

[[ _as much as i can say with her head on my shoulder, homme_ ]]

[[ _REMY_ ]]

[[ _shell calm down soon enough. i'll call u about the exhibit back home_ ]]

[[ _Thanks. How are you getting to New Orleans this year?_ ]]

[[ _fixin up bike and flying makes bank commit flaming suicide so we went by train. before u ask tante is housing us this year stop being mother hen_ ]]

[[ _I will when you stop giving me reason to. If anything happens, go straight to Mattie or at least call me. Illyana and I will come for you_ ]]

[[ _i know, pete. merci_ ]]

[[ _You still need to learn how to spell._ ]]

[[ _over my rotting illiterate corpse, rasputin mwahahaha_ ]]

[[ _In other news, there has been a change in plans over here..._ ]]

[[ _ohhh do tell~_ ]]

**0XX0**

_Bullet train route through Knoxville, Tennessee._

Speeding at 150 miles per hour towards the southern state of Louisiana in first class of a 'metal death trap', Remy LeBeau sat against the vibrating window with his feet propped up (and putting gravel all over the back of the seats facing him) and a slumbering Bella resting her head on his shoulder.

In his tight grip, his fingers flew over the touch screen of his phone to send text after text, replying so fast that it was almost like actually talking to the Russian giant in person..

With a lot more grammatical errors.

He should have expected a call or message from either one of the Rasputins sooner or later, especially after Illyana caught Bella's glare on the night of the double date. And afterwards...

After all the apologising and quiet time, he had deemed it time to stay on a low profile to his friends. He didn't want to upset Bella again so soon, nor did he have much reason to hang around them outside of work business; he had helped with the first date and the new couple were fine on their own now.

Yeah, that's right...

[[ _Where are you now?_ ]]

[[ _somewhere in Tennessee i think? close to border anyway_ ]]

[[ _Make sure you take a break. 15 hours on a train is not healthy._ ]]

[[ _it's not 15 hours pleb_ ]]

[[ _Your vocabulaut is expanding! Praise be!_ ]]

[[ _omg u misspelled a word miracles do happen_ ]]

[[ _Remy_.]]

[[ _I TOOK A SCREENSHOT IT'S TOO LATE I WILL NEVER LET THIS GO_ ]]

[[ _Capslock much?_ ]]

[[ _nerd much?_ ]]

[[ _You are impossible_.]]

[[ _it's one of my many charms. u still love me_ ]]

[[ _I wouldn't go that far. I tolerate you. Maybe._ ]]

[[ _LIIIIEES_ ]]

[[ _Prove it._ ]]

[[ _u will rue the day_ ]]

[[ _You spelt 'rue' correctly. I must be dreaming._ ]]

[[ _FUCK U RUSSIAN DOUCHEPANTS_ ]]

[[ _To quote you, 'u still love me'_.]]

[[ _that must've hurt like a bitch, bro_ ]]

[[ _More than words can ever say._ ]]

[[ _all according to plan. i will marry Illyana and take over mother russia!_ ]]

[[ _DON'T YOU EVEN JOKE_ ]]

[[ _oooooooooooooooo made u mad so much caps omg brb dying of laughter_ ]]

[[ _I will end you if you touch her._ ]]

[[ _i know i know, sheesh. she's like a sis to me don't worry_ ]]

[[ _Good. Keep it that way_.]]

[[ _yessir gatekeeper~_ ]]

[[ _Remy_.]]

[[ _God what did i do NOW_ ]]

[[ _Don't be an ass._ ]]

[[ _aw but i'm such a cute ass_ ]]

[[ _It won't save you_.]]

[[ _u sure bro? it'll distract u long enough for me to run away_ ]]

[[ _Ha ha, funny._ ]]

[[ _merci, i'm here 'til Thursday~ aren't u supposed to be cheerin me up? not the other way_ ]]

[[ _That's the normal route. You've never done 'normal'._ ]]

[[ _u say it like its a bad ting! whoops gotta go trains at a stop_ ]]

[[ _Don't foret to eat, drink and stretch, Remy._ ]]

[[ _and floss after dinner?_ ]]

[[ _Wash behind your ears; get enough sleep, and no checking your phone after midnight_.]]

[[ _ur no fun, mom_ ]]

[[ _Just the way I like it. I'll talk to you later._ ]]

Bella shifted against Remy as passengers around them began to get up and gather their things once the train had slowed down enough for them to move around. The blonde lifted her head up and yawned, baring her canine teeth and stretching out her back with a loud pop. Remy did the same, rolling his shoulders and sitting up to pocket his phone before it was spotted.

"Have a good nap, _chérie_?" He asked, one eye looking out the window to study the station platform, while the other watched Bella from the edges.

"Oui, Remy. Y' a **_very_ ** comfy pillow." She teased, winking and smirking at him as she got up to grab their luggage. Remy couldn't help but smile back at his girlfriend. Neither of them were particularly happy to go back to the Big Easy for the week, but they had made promises and were sure to make couple getaways in the middle of all the family chaos. The faster it was over, the better.

At least he could see his _tante_ and cousins again, and Bella could visit her parents. Silver lining and all that jazz.

"Ready t' go, _neg_?" Bella asked, handing a bag to Remy as he stood up. She then flicked out a dry cigarette from a coat pocket (they looked so empty, how...?), put it between her lips and started to filter herself into the moving crowd.

"Comin', _chérie_." He answered. "Don' get down dis train wit'out _moi_."

"Never dream of it, boo!" Bella called out to him, devolving into a fit of giggles. Remy picked up his pace and went after the hyper blonde, pushing back all other thoughts and memories of the painful nights into the deepest ends of his mind; they were heading home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 1 of Thanksgiving is out! I should get the next part out soon, hopefully. And there will be more Remy and Piotr texts in the future because they have become my favourite part of the fic.
> 
> I'm also making an attempt to make the Cajun dialogue in this fic sound more genuine and realistic, especially after doing some reading and research on the Southern Louisiana slang. I will do my best to translate the dialogue (especially in the next chapter where 60% of the Louisiana characters are Cajun or heavy users of Southern slang) but it's best if you just look up Cajun French dictionaries for yourselves.
> 
> As for the change in Kurt's appearance...It really came down to me realizing that Azazel, in this AU, would most likely come from the Middle East (outside of comics, Azazel is known as something ancient Israelites sacrificed goats to in the Hebrew scriptures of the Bible) and if Kurt is Raven and Azazel's child, that would make him mixed race and not as white as his hologram in the comics and cartoons portray him as. I know that this won't be a popular change, but I'm sticking with it. It's fine if you don't like it, but I won't be retconning it.
> 
> Please keep the follows, favourites, kudos, reviews - whatever!- coming! I love seeing e-mail alerts for this fic pop up in my inbox every day; they help keep the fic alive. Thanks for all the support you've already given me, I really appreciate it. The timeline will be coming to you all soon.
> 
> Translations:  
> Privet! Menya zovut Illyana - Hi! My name is Illyana.  
> Sestra - Sister  
> Ami - Friend.  
> Homme - Man/Dude.  
> Chérie - Darling.  
> Tante - Aunt.  
> Neg - A term of endearment used between Cajuns. Neg is used towards men; Negresse is used towards women.


	8. Thanksgiving Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my beta, cartoonanimegirl, once again. If there's any advice I can give to the next generation (which includes the niece/nephew my sister-in-law is currently pregnant with! Get hype!), it's to never be a webcomic creator AND a fanfic writer at the same time. I also promised last chapter to show you all the official timeline for this fanfic, which can be found here: http://www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/418767/We-Might-Be-Strangers-Fanfic-Timeline/ (it is full of BIG STORY SPOILERS so be careful when you read it!).
> 
> Insert generic disclaimer here.

_Howlett Farm Ranch, Alberta, Canada_

In her youth, Anna Marie had always fancied herself a city girl. Growing up in the hustle and bustle of two large towns only miles away from the biggest cities in the states of Mississippi and New York, she had liked the busy lives around her all day, every day (a frequent dare between the Xavier Boarding Home kids back in Bayville was to get a ride to the Big Apple for an Italian pizza after their weekend curfews just for fun; Anna and Scott always won).

However, once the Howlett family moved up to the Alberta province of Canada following Anna's high school graduation to settle on a hobby farm ranch, Anna found herself madly in love with the countryside wilderness. The wide open spaces; meadows stretching for miles; the dark, mysterious woods with hidden wonders (like bears...); the smell of fresh stable hay; slow breezes over the hills, and the quiet hours of the mornings and evenings. Every time she had to leave, her heart broke just a little bit more.

Leaving the airport cab behind and dragging their luggage up the dirt path to the cabin house, Kurt and Anna took time to soak in the poetic sights around them, draped in the orange light of dusk. There were cows and sheep dotted around the field, enjoying the outdoors before the winter drove them all inside the barns. None of the farmhands or volunteers were out tending to any animals right now, so the siblings assumed they were either taking a break or had gone home for the night. A few lights in the house were shining bright, and Anna was pleased to see her father's old pick-up truck and motorcycle in their parked spots outside the garage. Hopefully everyone else was at home as well...

Well, they _**should**_ be. They all knew she was coming home today and there would be hell to pay if they skipped out.

Of course, once Anna opened the front door, she was bowled over onto the floor by a speeding bundle of 5 year old energy.

"Anna!"

Kendall clung to Anna's waist and squealed her name over and over again. Kurt stepped over the girls and dumped his bags next to the lavish kitchen island.

"Clean up on aisle 7!" He called out, laughing when he caught Anna glaring at him. She narrowed her eyes more, sitting up straight to rub her sore back and hug Kendall back to make up for the months spent apart.

"Kurt, you're an _**ass**_."

"Anna said a bad word for the jar!" Kendall shot up and gaped at her sister with her wide brown eyes. The Southerner rolled her eyes and ruffled her sister's hair, which earned her a mad giggle.

"Kenny, ya live with Dad. You've heard worse." The young girl giggled again and then ran into Kurt's arms, which wrapped around her in a tight embrace. Anna pushed herself back onto her own two feet, dusting herself down.

"An' why is this house so empty? Where's ev'ryone?"

"Around." Kendall answered, hanging off Kurt's hip as he went around the kitchen, piling sandwich pieces together. Typical.

"Ah finally come home an' no welcome party? Y'all suck." She was smiling anyway and shrugged her coat off to hang on the hook beside the front door, now firmly shut behind her. Most days, she was Grumpus Rogue, and ready to snap at anybody who crossed her wrong at a moment's notice, but here - at home - the stress melted off her and she could feel human again. Like herself.

Anna picked up her fallen belongings, taking them to the hallway unlike her heathen brother who was too busy teasing Kendall with a breadstick to put his bags away properly. Leaving her things at the bottom of the stairwell to be carried upstairs later, Anna lifted her head up when she heard a thump on the stairs, and spotted the yellow cardigan favoured by her adopted sister.

"Hey, Jubes."

Jubilee yelped and gripped the stair railing, poking her head out to give Anna a dirty look through her thick eyelashes and magenta make-up.

"I thought I heard the gates of hell open outside."

"Really? Ah thoughts Ah was bein' discreet."

Jubilee made her way down the stairs and laughed, pulling Anna into a hug before she even reached the bottom. Anna lifted her off the steps, returning the hug tenfold and laughed back when her sister whined at her.

"Ya weaklin'." Anna poked Jubilee as she let go of her. The Cantonese girl swatted her back.

"You have the arms of Wonder Woman!"

"All the better ta wrestle ya with."

Jubilee shuddered and shook her head, chasing away the flashbacks of the last family wrestling match they all had. She had dislocated her _hip_.

"Where's everyone else?" Anna asked, planting her gloved hands on her hips. Jubilee sorted herself and rolled her shoulders.

"Logan's nappin' upstairs, an' Laura's in a bad mood, so 'Ro's in our room talking."

Anna raised an eyebrow and cast a quick glance to the kitchen; Kurt was still with Kendall and distracting her.

"How bad?"

"Not even an ex-boyfriend joke quirked her."

Anna bit down on her lip and sighed through her nostrils. This wasn't her first rodeo in this region of Laura Howlett. She had a few guesses as to what had happened to her dear sister.

"Right. Ah'll go help out, you stop Kurt from emptyin' tha kitchen."

"Oh God, you gave me the _**hard**_ job." Jubilee turned on her heel anyway and sauntered off to the action.

Anna let out a long breath, looking up the stairwell before clearing her mind and jogging up to the third floor of their home. Once she arrived and jumped over an abandoned guitar, she noticed how quiet it was and eased back a shiver. A quiet Howlett house was never a good sign.

She went up to the door through her memory-map and rapped her knuckles against the white wood paneling.

"We're still busy, Juby." Anna smiled at the soft tone of her step-mother's voice and opened the door a touch.

"Ah didn' hear the death metal through the floors, so Ah got worried." The stripe-haired woman poked her head into the room, focusing on the two figures sitting on the far bed instead of the teenage messes everywhere else. The two women on the mattress looked up and Ororo beamed at the sight of her eldest daughter.

"Marie, you're home!" Anna smiled back and went into the room, climbing up onto the bed next to the silent, curled up figure of Laura before Ororo got a chance to stand up for a hug as fierce as Kendall's.

The teenager rested her head on the grey pillow over her knees, nose running, green eyes red and puffy, and cheeks burning behind a tangled curtain of chocolate brown hair. Ororo had a hand rubbing her back in her mothering way, her many bracelets and beads tinkling against each other like a calming wind chime.

Anna made herself comfortable and nudged her half sister. "What'd she do to earn her parkin' space in Hell this time?"

Laura buried her head into the pillow and let out a yell, barely muffled. Ororo tucked her hair back, softly pulling out a tangle, to look down at her light bronze face she hated so much thanks to the person of discussion.

"Wow, very evil." Anna drawled and shuffled closer to Laura, draping an arm over her shoulders. "Did she use a fake Facebook or somethin' this time?"

Laura lifted her head up, sniffing sharply and almost growling. "No, she made a friggin' new account just to get past the blocks I had. S-She just sent five paragraphs 'bout wanting to catch up with her 'precious daughter' and Jubilee had to hold me back from screaming 'FUCK YOU', 'cause she deserves that much from me!"

Anna felt Ororo stiffen at the loud cursing, but both of them just held Laura closer and ignored the broken house rules. The topic of Laura's mother had always been a touchy one to approach around the girl, especially as she grew to understand the meaning behind the years of neglect before the ultimate divorce. Laura didn't want contact with the woman she felt had abandoned her, and whenever words were exchanged, she got into one of her 'bad moods'.

Anna was probably the only one who could relate with Laura (with her own feelings towards Raven and all), and they had grown close through bad-mouthing their biological mothers whenever they felt the need to complain. Logan allowed them to rant and rave about his former loves; he knew the benefits of releasing the negative emotions tied to one's personal past, even if he didn't want his daughters to resent or hate anybody. No matter how much they probably deserved it.

With the eldest now away from home for most of the year, the two girls had learnt to follow their 'tradition' over Skype calls and then go all out when Anna was at home. The college student knew the perfect way to remedy her half-sister's emotional state after years of practice.

"Y'know, mah lil' honey badger?" Laura rolled her head over and groaned at the nickname. "Ah think there's a couple mixed rum drinks with our names on them, an' a cheesecake that begs ta be made."

"Anna Marie." Ororo warned through her tone, frowning with her bright blue eyes alone. Anna smiled innocently.

"Yes, Momma?" The black woman snorted and stood from the bed, brushing back her long locks of hair in the same shade Kendall inherited.

"If you're going to be sassy, you can make sure all of you kids behave downstairs. And don't destroy my new rolling pin."

Laura and Anna both snorted at the memory of the last cheesecake they had made together. The rolling pin had been shredded to pieces after Laura had beaten the dust out of the cookie base with it for 10 minutes straight. Logan had made them both take out their anger on fire logs for a week afterwards and banned them from the kitchen area for even longer.

"Sure thin', 'Ro. Can ya wake Dad up 'n' tell him dessert's on us too?" Anna asked.

"We'll go hide in the bunkers." Ororo nodded and pulled her long green cardigan around herself, tying a belt to hold it in place. "Call me if you need anything, girls."

"Yes, 'Ro." The daughters replied in unison, satisfying the older woman. She then left the room, showering silence all over its occupants.

Laura wiped at her nose and eyes with the end of her grey sleeve and sniffed again, resting her head on Anna's shoulder. She returned the gesture and pulled her younger sibling closer.

"'Ro's a good Momma." Laura murmured into the wool of Anna's turtleneck, allowing herself to slip into a slight Southern accent in the privacy of her room (Anna was probably the only Howlett daughter to have kept her native accent; Laura had swapped her's for a New York accent before they even moved states, and Jubilee spoke with a neutral accent unless she was cursing in Cantonese - all in the name of fitting in).

"She's the best." Anna whispered back, closing her eyes to savour the sweet moment. "Don' let anyone pressure ya into makin' nice with Risman before you're ready, Laura. She's the one missin' out on a life with ya, she _**made**_ that choice. Ya don' owe her a damned thing."

"Ya never shut up 'bout it." Laura nudged her, baring a small smile. Anna squeezed her close, pressing a kiss against her thick hair.

"'Cause ya need to hear it." She replied. "No one ever told meh this stuff growin' up, and Ah know Ah would've appreciated it."

"Ya got me to squawk it back at'cha, Annie."

Anna slapped Laura's arm and stomped up onto her feet, glaring as Laura snorted and giggled the last stray tears out of her eyes.

"Ah told ya never to call meh that!"

Laura threw her pillow aside and stretched her legs out over the side of the bed. "I needed the laugh."

"So glad Ah amuse ya, assbutt. Love you too." Anna pouted her lip out and headed to the door. "Guess Ah'll be makin' those drinks alone."

"No!" Laura squeaked and rolled off the bed in a heap of tangled limbs, chasing after Anna as she left. "I need it more than you do!"

"Oh honey, jus' wait 'til Ah tell ya what happened to meh an' Kitty this month..."

**0XX0**

_Pryde family & friends, Deerfield, Illinois._

It was the day before Thanksgiving, during a trip to the mall ("We need to map out the best routes for Black Friday and mark all possible exits out of all our target stores!" Kitty had said), that Piotr fully realised the extent of what he had gotten himself into by merely being a friend of Kitty Pryde, and the young woman continued to awe him.

One of the things that made him gape at her that day was her criminal mastermind and absolute dedication to what others would dismiss easily.

The moment he had stepped into the mall with the Pryde women, Dani and Illyana, the spark of ambition had flared in their eyes. Piotr almost feared for the safety of those around them, if he wasn't so intrigued and honest-to-God attracted to determined Kitty Pryde at the time.

While Terri headed off alone to grab last minute additions to the Thanksgiving dinner, Piotr trailed behind his sister and followed the three friends into a local gift shop. Dani went over to a corner of trinkets and dreamweavers while muttering about 'white people jokes' ("Every month, Grandpa and I exchange boxes of the most ridiculous fake Native gadgets we can find," Dani had explained to him and Illyana the other day. "We laugh at the white people instead of being angry - good vibes and all - and since Grandpa's at the Mourning Day March this year, he'll need a pick-me-up."); Kitty gazed up a wall of decorated pillows; Illyana drifted to a shelf of ballerina figurines, and Piotr found himself staring at empty frames made from drift wood.

The tall Russian scratched his chin and hummed, shifting between each frame and inspiring new ideas. There were quite a few things he could do with the wood, especially after some modifications. Piotr perked up at the sound of giggling and saw Dani looking down at her phone, taking photos of a miniture totem pole covered in feathers and...chicken bones? He moved his gaze to Illyana, and she was laughing as well, fingering through the china figurines and moving their positions.

He walked to his sister, watching her before speaking. "Illyana, what are you doing?"

"Looking." She moved another small figure to the back of the shelf.

"And?"

" _And the plan_." Illyana switched to their mother tongue and stepped back, sending a quick text.

" _Plan_?" Piotr asked in kind. He followed Illyana closely as she moved onto another section of the store - a shelf of vintage music boxes.

" _Yes, the plan. We told you about it._ "

" _You did_ ," He recalled the ranting and raving of Kitty's master plan earlier that morning. He feared some details may have gone over his head... " _but what does_ _ **this**_ _have to do with it_?"

Illyana slumped her shoulders and groaned, giving her oh-so-dearest brother the stink eye and a strained smile. Piotr was smart, but some things just didn't fully stick. " _Katya is having us move around the items we want to buy on Friday so they will still be here when we come to buy them._ "

" _...Right. Isn't that too obvious_?"

" _Nope. We make it to look like we're looking for a certain thing, move what we_ _ **really**_ _want to the back, buy the cheaper item today, and then come back to exchange them during the sale when they're the same price._ "

Piotr blinked. He certainly hadn't caught that part of the plan. And _**Kitty**_ had thought of that? Of something so...so... " _That is...detailed_."

" _Yeah! And she does it to a different store each year so the staff don't catch on and stop her_."

Scandalous. That was the word. And probably 'illegal' too. That didn't mesh too well with the Kitty he had come to know.

He'd have to pay closer attention to her from now on.

However, for now... " _I'll stay out of this. It's dishonest_."

" _Whatever you want, Piotr_." Illyana brushed her hair back and pulled a small music box from the shelf: red, gold and covered in cherub angels. She smiled and kept it in her grasp. Piotr shook his head and walked over to where Dani was poking at a comically large dreamweaver hanging off the ceiling tiles.

"Hey, Piotr." She smiled as he neared, pulling her orange body jacket vest close to her chest. Being from Oklahoma, she often felt the cold more severely than her Northern friends; certainly more than him and Illyana. They were both dressed in light, thin clothes like it was the beginning of spring and not winter.

"Hello. Vhat are you looking at?" Piotr asked.

"Just seeing if there's something here Grandpa doesn't already have." Dani pocketed her phone and gestured to the various items around her. "White people, so unoriginal when they appropriate the collective culture." She flipped one of her braids over her shoulder, sighing loudly for dramatic effect.

"This happens often?"

"Bro, don't even get me started." Dani pointed over to a large figurine of a Native American man fighting a bear with nothing but a flint spear...and no shirt either. "It's like we're just a bunch of 'red people' with no cultural diversity. This guys looks like a Cherokee - Apache fashion disaster, and why is he wearing a feathered war bonnet! That's for a respected chieftain, not some random bear hunter."

Piotr looked between the Native woman and the trinkets that refused to portray her real culture. "What tribe are you?"

Dani's face lit up like a Christmas light, beaming at Piotr as if he were a priceless treasure to her.

"I'm so glad you asked! In layman's terms, Grandpa and I are Southern Cheyenne, with a bit of Wampanoag and Navajo a couple generations back." Her smile widened, and an idea blossomed in Piotr's mind.

"Danielle, vould you mind helping me with project?" He asked as he moved back over to the drift wood frames and plucked one up - a large frame with wood painted to look like mahogany. Perfect.

He would take Dani's loud squeal as a yes.

**0XX0**

_Baptiste Residence, New Orleans, Louisiana_.

Remy flipped onto the old couch and groaned. Not even two days back home in the bayou and he felt like Death itself. Bella, returning indoors in a puff of tabacco smoke, slumped onto the floor beside his head.

"Go ont' e-cigs, _chèrie_." He mumbled for the hundredth time.

" _Oui_ , boo." She repiled, perfectly rehearsed. "If ya dis tired after dealin' wit' _mes_ parents, I can't t'ink of how you'll be after seein' ya cousins."

"I don' have dat many." Remy sat up on the couch, dusting off his red shirt. "An' I can deal wit' my family. Yours try ta murder me."

"Dat's just Julien." Bella snorted and patted his neck. "I'll keep 'im away from y'."

" _Merci_." Remy replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes when she kissed the top of his hair. He cracked his neck and shoulders, making his girlfriend wince harshly.

"Dat's disgustin', Remy LeBeau!" She scrambled onto her feet, shuddering from top to bottom. Remy laughed and lifted a bare foot up into the air towards her. "Don' do de foot thin' either!"

"Here comes de fun police." He said in a sing-song voice. Bella glared.

"Don' y' two be gettin' any ideas. Dis house is too old for dat kin'a action."

The Cajun couple shot up straight, snapping their heads to the door frame where Tante Mattie - dressed in her Creole colours in a long shirt and frilled skirt, her twisted, beaded and greying dreadlocks hanging over her shoulders like a perfectly aged willow tree. She leaned against the frame, smirking in a way only Remy could replicate.

"Tante!" The younger man leapt over the couch and lifted the black woman into his arms, laughing when she left the ground. Mattie hugged him back and patted his chest once he put her back down.

"Remy, m' boy. Y' saw me t'ree hours ago!" He just smiled and kept her close.

"Tante, I've gone months wit'out seein' y'. A man can' go long wit'out de woman of his heart."

" _Merci_." Mattie popped his arms off her and glanced over to Bella, who was sitting on the beige couch and watching them.

"Tante, even I know dere's no replacin' ya in Remy's heart. Bein' second fiddle t' de great Mattie Baptiste isn't da worst thin'." Bella ran a hand through her blonde locks, lounging back into the cushions and turned away from them. Mattie relaxed and patted Remy's chest again before walking over to stand before the young woman.

" _Et_ , how have y' been, _ma petite fille_?" The black woman brushed back Bella's hair, to which she leaned into.

"I've been better. I've been worse." She replied with a shrug. Mattie took her chin and look straight into her dull blue eyes. "I promise, Tante."

"I believe ya." Mattie let go of Bella and went back to her nephew, checking him over with the same critical eye. "C'mon, boy. Y' cousins are comin' over 'n' the place is a mess."

"Can y' make 'im clean my house too, Tante?" Bella laughed and Mattie joined her as she dragged Remy out into the long hallway by the front door.

She left him by the bottom of the stairwell before turning on him with a straight face. Her calloused hand went to his cheek barring the paper-cut scar.

"When did dis happen, _boug_?" Remy took her hand and ran his thumb over her knuckles, just as her's traced the scar like a mother hen and her chick.

"'Bout a couple weeks ago, Tante. I-It was my fault, I wasn' bein' careful..."

Mattie narrowed her eyes at Remy and sighed out of her nose. He gripped her hand and kissed her forehead. He released her and she placed it on his abdomen, right over his bruised rib.

"I trust y', Remy. If y' say so, I'll believe ya." Mattie brushed away a hair bead. " _Mais_ , I hope y' trust me too."

"More den anyone, Tante." Remy held onto her shoulders tightly, looking at her straight on with the same brown eyes she found almost 26 years ago. "I'd never lie ta y' either."

"I know." Mattie's lips relaxed into an all too familiar smirk and Remy mirrored it. "De LeBeaus may call y' theirs, but we all know..."

"I'm a Baptiste boy, _mon dieu_ I know." Remy laughed as Mattie hit him upside the head. "Y' don' know me well enough."

"Cheeky _boug_. Ya better behave when Etienne 'n' Theo get 'ere."

"Etienne 'n' Theo?" He parroted. "How did dey find out I was stayin' here?" He asked as he followed his aunt over to the broom closet, staying back as she pulled out a dust rag, a can of polish and a vacuum cleaner. He was so sure word of his 'hotel' location hadn't gotten to any family members.

"It's Etienne. Y' can't keep secrets from dat boy." She passed the vacuum cleaner to him, just as the doorbell rang. Remy escaped the chore and Mattie cursed loudly.

The moment Remy opened the front door, he was almost knocked over by a tackling bundle of 18 year old energy, forcing all air out of his lungs and all pain into his bruised rib cage.

" _Neg_! It's so good t' see ya!"

" _Etienne Marceaux_!" Mattie all but shouted at the pale, sandy-haired boy backing away from a wincing Remy with wide green eyes that fit his baby face too well. "Dat language does not belong in my house!"

"S-Sorry, Mattie!" Etienne cowered back into the looming figure of his older brother, who pushed him back into the country house.

" _Désolé_ , Mattie. I told 'im but he gets stupid when LeBeau is around." Theo snorted when Remy flipped the bird at him.

"Love y' too, dearest cousin."

Mattie huffed at the grown boys and pointed down the hallway that led to the living room.

"If y' gon' be disrespectful in _ma maison_ , take it outside." Her hardened stare made all three scurry away like dogs with their tails between their legs. Bella glanced up at them as they passed through the room.

"C _hèrie?"_

"Banished." Was all he said before disappearing to the back porch looking over the green bayou water under an acre of willow trees and hanging vines. Bella followed them out, pulling a cigarette out of her pocket to offer to Theo. He waved his hand and leaned over the railing, gazing over the lily pads.

"What'd y' do dis time?" She asked, sitting down on the porch swing.

" _Language_." All three answered.

"Ya'd t'ink y' woulda learned by now." Bella shook her head and put her cigarette away into her pocket.

"I-I didn' t'ink she was gonna be right dere!" Etienne pouted and Remy ruffled his hair. The younger boy pushed him away, pouted more.

"It's a mistake when y' were 5." Remy berated. "Not so much when y' almost a grown man."

"'Almost'?" Theo barked out a laugh and Etienne's cheeks puffed out like ripe cherries. "Et's gotta act like a man 'fore he can 'almost' be one, cuz!"

Remy and Bella bit down hard on their tongues as Etienne glared at his older brother with eyes like raging torrents. If not for his youthful features and the pointed nose of their father, Etienne would practically be a carbon copy of Theo. That thought was terrifying; one Theo was one too many for Remy.

(He loved the guy, but Theo was an asshole 85 to 92 percent of the time. 94 percent when they were teenagers, barring the time Remy had dropped out of high school after some...issues. Asshole levels had dropped to around 21 percent at that time.

The point still stood.)

Bella lazily swung in her seat, resting her head back and closing her eyes to release her hidden laughter through a soft sigh. "How y' been, boys? Holdin' up Jean Luc's fort?"

"Not much t' hold up." Theo shrugged, leaning against the porch railing. Remy and Etienne joined him, ignoring the sluggish swamp bugs hovering around their heads.

" _Oui_ , not much family comin' dis year." Etienne continued, seemingly calming down and quickly forgiving.

"'Bout damn time Père realised de house is too small for ev'ryone." Remy smirked and shook his head, running a hand through his growing hair and slicking it back from his eyes. Bella made a snipping motion with her fingers but he ignored it. Theo chuckled and crossed his arms.

"Remember dat Christmas Nonc invited both sides of de famille wit'out tellin' Tante Josie 'n' we ended up campin' in de yard so Paw Paw an' _Mamere_ wouldn' hurt dere backs?"

"No?" Etienne cocked his head while Remy laughed loudly. Bella rubbed her temples and just sat back, rattling the well-known story through her mind.

"Dat was de best Christmas ever!" Remy held onto his gut, barely noticing Bella tutting at him and rolling onto her side.

"Only 'cause you 'n' Henri got all de presents!" Theo went to nudge Remy, who quickly dodged and hid behind a protesting Etienne.

As the men laughed and teased, Mattie watched from the second floor with a softened smile playing on her lips. Her boys were frantic, but she loved them all the same.

**0XX0**

_Pryde Residence, Deerfield, Illinois._

On the evening of Thanksgiving, Kitty had been allowed to forgo the family tradition of watching Peanuts specials in order to help Piotr with his new art project, and then continue the Muppet marathon with running commentary (with regular breaks so Kitty could call the Robinsons to check on Lockheed).

So far (they were on the third season of the Muppet Show), Illyana claimed Gonzo as her favourite.

Piotr said he liked Sam the Eagle and Elmo. He later told Kitty he actually liked Miss Piggy and Big Bird the most. They then proceeded to talk about ' _Follow That Bird_ ' and Piotr had to take a moment in the bathroom after hearing _**that**_ song. They got a good long hug out of it, and Kitty made a mental note to hug Piotr a lot, LOT more.

Dani called him a cuddly Russian polar bear dog when Kitty texted her about it.

By the time they food was ready to be served, it was late in the evening and the group were sharing photos from Anna, Kurt and Dani's grandfather. They were sat on their seats at the crowded dining table, gushing over one photo of Anna and Kendall on a horse together, when Carmen made the alert to put all electronic devices away for the evening.

"Thank you," He said as he put every cellphone into a wicker basket in the middle of the table. "Now, before we start, I'd like to inform our new guests that we say a _bracha_ before meals. We know that you don't share our faith, so we just ask that you keep to yourselves until we begin eating."

"Of course." Piotr replied, nodding with his sister and Dani sitting opposite him. Kitty smiled at them and held her plate in her right hand, as did both her parents. Her father stood over the table, beginning the prayer.

" _Baruch atah adonai elokeinu melech haolam…"_

Illyana watched the proceedings with a curious delight, while Dani and Piotr ducked their heads and averted their eyes. Piotr's thoughts trailed away from the unfamiliar words of prayer and towards his own future plans. With a new project underway, he would need to get in touch with Remy and give him the details, then gather the list of resources Dani had given him; check his supplies at home or stock up while they were near Chicago; get photo references for the main focus-

Piotr felt a hand ghost over his own and he jerked back to reality to see Kitty's left hand resting on his. She looked to him at the corner of her eye and her smile widened, gently squeezing his hand. He returned the gesture as Carmen ended the prayer and sat down.

"Thank you, now we can get to the good part." He said, sitting down in his seat. Terri and Kitty laughed, diving straight into their meals. Dani quickly followed suit and Piotr took a swig of juice while Illyana leaned over the table to Kitty.

"Vhat was that for?" She asked, making Kitty sit upright with a mouthful of food. Carmen chuckled.

"You can ask us, don't worry." He said. Illyana blushed and sat properly when Piotr sent her a look.

"It was a prayer for the food we're having." Terri answered her, smiling softly. Illyana smiled back.

"What language vas that? Yiddish?" The blonde took a bite out of her mashed potatoes. Carmen shook his head.

"No, not Yiddish. I don't speak much of it, that's the wife's department." Terri rolled her eyes and muttered something that made her daughter snort loudly. "My parents taught me the blessings in Hebrew."

Illyana made a sound of awe and clapped her hands together. "I've never heard Hebrew before!"

"Da, it's not...well received in some parts at home." Piotr fiddled with his fork, chewing slowly and raising an eyebrow at Illyana before turning his gaze to his plate. His sister slumped slightly and pursed her lips.

"Yeah, no surprise there." Dani said, cutting the awkward tension with a knife. Illyana tried to laugh it off but no sound came out.

"No, I'm…" Kitty wet her lips, poking her food around. "I'm glad you're interested. I really appreciate it."

She smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. Piotr reached for her hand, gently squeezing it. Dani looked to her friend, but Kitty kept her head down and eyes on the food. Her lips pursed and a low sigh escaped.

Every thought in her mind was fighting for and against her next choice of words, and doubt started the sprout. Her friends deserved to know, and if she didn't say it now… Well, she knew that this moment of bravery wouldn't return any time soon (or at all).

"...What do you guys know about my last boyfriend?" Kitty asked. Terri, Carmen and Dani looked around at each other, mouths pursed tight at the sudden change to the sensitive topic.

"We've been told enough to not like him." Illyana answered, swallowing her bite.

"Anna hates him the most. Don't ever get her started on the L Rant." Dani said.

"He was anti-Semitic." Kitty said in a quick breath, lowering her gaze and frowning. Dani pushed herself back from the table, and Illyana looked at her friend with new eyes.

Piotr ran his thumb over her knuckles as Dani stood up from her seat. Carmen and Terri looked ready to follow.

"Then he's a fool. Great fool." Piotr said in a voice just as quiet. Dani moved around the table and wrapped her arms around Kitty's shoulders, holding her close.

"It was a long time ago, and he's rotting in a ditch as he should." Dani rested her head on Kitty's and she wiped at her eyes.

"Thanks." Kitty whispered, squeezing Piotr's hand again. Dani pulled away and Kitty nodded to her. She returned to her own seat, pulling her braids back over her shoulders. Terri reached over and patted her child's forearm.

"Illyana, sit up." The blonde girl snapped up at her brother's words and fumbled with her hands, replying quietly in Russian. She focused intently on her food, quickly biting down on it.

Piotr went to do the same but was stopped when he felt Kitty's hand still holding his. She pulled away almost instantly, keeping close to him anyway, and a small smile stayed on both of their faces.

**0XX0**

_LeBeau Residence, New Orleans, Louisiana_

Whenever the LeBeau family gathered together for any amount of time, a party rivalling Mardi Gras was sure to follow. This year, however, most of the evening was spent out on the front porch of the old LeBeau home, surrounded by the soundtrack of the distant bayou and suburb neighbourhoods half a mile away from them.

Remy and Bella were sat together on the porch steps, slowly eating away at the food sat on their laps. Theo was drinking a cold beer sip by sip, leaning on the white wood railing next to the couple, whole Etienne was lying face-down on the lawn in front.

The youngest muffled something against the grass and Theo made him repeat himself.

"How long is Nonc Jean gon' take?"

"'Til he 'n' Henri get kicked out de ward." Remy answered. Bella smacked his arm.

"Don' be like dat, boo. Y' mère is ill 'n' dey wanna spend time wit' 'er."

"She ain't m' _mère_ ," Remy replied, rolling his eyes at the rehearsed conversation. "An' dey coulda done dis t'is mornin'."

"T' be fair, Henri an' Mercy were gettin' de food ready dis morning. While y' two were wit' Mattie, dis house was a mess from de pits of Hell." Theo said, smirking when Remy tried to hit him and missed.

"Oui, I had t' clean most of dis place!" Etienne exclaimed, rolling over to sit up and pout. "Y'know how much mess dey make? Tonnes!"

"Don't make such a bahbin, cuz." Remy laughed, which only served to make his young cousin pout even more. Theo almost choked on his drink and covered his mouth in time to snuffle any laughs.

"I ain't, y' _bon rien_!" Etienne groaned and flopped onto the ground, taking out his phone and scrolling through his e-mails as Remy kept laughing.

"Aw, cuz! Y' wound me."

"'Ey, the car's comin'." Theo stood up, all laughs gone, and put his beer aside. Remy shoved his plate away and pushed himself up onto his feet, pulling Bella up by the hand. Etienne scrambled up and hurriedly wiped the dirt off of his jeans. They grouped together on the porch, watching the red Sedan roll up the driveway and park in its designated spot.

The engine cut and out stepped Jean Luc, Henri and Mercy LeBeau. Remy almost winced at the sight of his adoptive father. Gone was his pointed moustache and slicked honeycomb hair, swapped fo clock shadow and a tangled mess of dark curls. His clothes looked as if they hadn't been ironed in weeks, and the circles under his green eyes were as dark as night.

Henri was in no better shape either, though it seemed that Mercy had made her husband shave this morning at the very least. Mercy was just as tired as the men, but had kept herself looking presentable. The only thing betraying her facade was the strands of blonde hair poking out of her ponytail and falling into her eyes.

Remy suspected that they had all been like this since he had gotten the news of his adoptive mother's accident and subsequent stay in the hospital starting over a month ago.

The three of them walked up to the house, Mercy wearing the weary smile. Remy felt Bella's nails dig into his arm.

" _Bonjour_ , _Nonc_." Etienne greeted, walking down to grab a bag from Jean Luc. "Y' just in time. Rem made a pot o' gumbo for us."

Remy shrugged, which only served to deepen Bella's nails. "Not like de rest of ya can cook anyt'ing worth a damn."

"Merci, _frère_. We couldn' get ev'ryt'ing done t'day." Henri said, rubbing at his eyes and leaning against Mercy. She patted his back and helped him up to the front door. Etienne rushed after them and Jean Luc stopped on the porch.

"Remy," he started. "y' need to visit your _mère_ before y' leave."

"She doesn' wanna see 'er charity case, Père." Remy replied, looking his father right in the eye. Bella pulled on his arm, forcing him inside and only letting him go so he could pile into the kitchen with Theo.

The brunette went straight to the oven and opened it wide, checking on the warm pot. The small tiled space forced Theo to stand right over his cousin.

"Y' sure Bella's okay, Rem?" Theo asked. "She looks read t' blow at Mercy."

"Dey don' get along, dat's all. Never have." Remy waved off, pulling out the gumbo and holding it up with his bare hands. Theo gave him a dirty look.

"Dat's still not healthy. Dey could be sisters-in-law one day, dey can' be fightin' den." Theo said, edging around the pot and heading out of the kitchen. Remy shivered and followed suit.

"Don' even get started on dat, Theo."

The younger man just shrugged and led him to the dining room, where everyone else had gathered. The table was hardly dressed up for the Thanksgiving occasion, probably even less so than it would be for a Sunday roast. Remy put the pot in the middle and went to Bella, who was sat at the farthest end with her hands in her hair and her eyes closed.

" _Chèrie_?" He put a hand on her shoulder as he sat down next to her. "You okay?"

Bella nodded and sighed through her nose. " _Oui_ , jus' been a long day."

"A'right, _chèrie_. Get some rest after dis, okay?"

She nodded again and sat up, dusting down her beige knitted jumper. The rest of the family took up the seats around them, with Etienne and Jean Luc on either side of the couple. Etienne leaned over to Remy and nudged him.

"I jus' got dis great idea for a vine." He whispered. "We can do it later, or tomorrow."

"If it's another 'smack cam' thing…" Remy whispered back.

"Non. Dis one's original, promise."

"We'll see, den." Etienne smiled and pumped his fist in the air. Theo nudged his foot and passed on a bowl of gumbo from Jean Luc.

Remy and Bella took their smaller portions and were about to dig in when Remy felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took it out and glanced at the screen, seeing a new message from Piotr.

[[ _Working on the development of a new project. Call me back when you can._ ]]

"Huh, haven' heard from 'im lately." Remy mumbled and put his phone down on the table next to his fork. Bella leaned over to glance and raised her eyebrows.

"New project?"

"First time I've heard of it." Remy shrugged and started eating. Bella opened her mouth and promptly closed it, keeping her gaze on the phone screen.

Everyone poked at their food, taking a bite every now and then, with a few glances thrown around the table. Whenever it seemed like a conversation would start, the silence instantly swallowed the words and hung in the air.

Mercy wet her lips and then cleared her throat, bringing all eyes to her. "Rem, y' haven' told us how ya ended up in Bella's end of de state."

Remy swallowed his mouthful, ignoring the grip Bella had on his arm, and held his eyes to the ceiling in an attempt to avoid everyone else's. "I jus' finished a job, Stark had a party in de city 'n' invited moi. I ended up stayin' with Chère afterwards."

Mercy hummed and swirled her drink around before sipping it. She opened her mouth again and saw Bella's hand over Remy's, stalling her words carefully.

"Soo...Josie's been doin' well." She said at last. "They reckon she'll be out by de end of de month."

"Oui." Jean Luc said, smiling softly but not looking at anyone. "She's a real spitfire."

Despite himself, Remy couldn't help but smile as well. It was a rare sight to see his father so open, even in the presence of his own family. It was nice.

His phone buzzed again, and before he could reach for it, Bella picked it up and read the message.

"Who's Vanessa?" She asked, all the attention now on her. Remy pushed down the panic bubbling in his chest and went to take his phone from her.

"She's jus' a business partner, Bella-"

"Dat's de truth?" She grabbed his wrist tightly, and it took everything in him not to jerk back and have her claw down his arm. The others stopped what they were doing and carefully watched them.

"Oui, oui." He answered. Nails dug into his skin. "She's Wilson Fisk's wife, wanted me t' help with a gallery openin' in Hell's Kitchen. I swear."

Bella didn't let go. Remy felt a familiar ripple of fear when her blue eyes pierced through him. "Remy LeBeau, I swear if y' lyin' 'bout dis t' me again…"

"Belladonna," Jean Luc stood up from the table and walked around it. "do y' need some fresh air?"

Bella snapped out of her raging trance, panic, fear and something Remy couldn't identify clouding over her gaze. She covered her mouth with her free hand and only let go of him when the tears started falling.

"O-Oh, God…" She sobbed, heaving with her shoulders and shivered when Jean Luc helped her to stand up.

"C'mon, fille. Y' jus' need a drink." He said quietly, looking over his shoulder to Remy as he led her out of the room. Remy shrunk back and cradled his wrist when his father narrowed his eyes at him.

"Rem?" He turned to look across the table and saw Henri looking at him with concern. "Are y' alright?"

"Y-Yeah…" He lied, quickly pulling his sleeves down and pressing tight against the pain. "Désolé, I need t' call Tante…"

Remy stood up from the table, shaking his head when Mercy and Theo tried to follow, and escaped out into the hallway as spots of red surfaced.

**0XX0**

_Howlett Farm Ranch, Alberta, Canada_

Up in the northern apartment of North America, Thanksgiving wasn't so big a deal as it was down below. To the Howletts, it was a holiday Deborah Risman had introduced to them, or one they had heard about from others, as well as a good reason to visit the big family for two weeks.

Thanksgiving dinner, by their standards, was just another meal under their cabin roof. Albeit, a larger one, but nothing to write home about.

Everybody had a part in making the food for the evening, which resulted in ceiling stains and a wave of flour covering Anna, Kendall, Kurt and Laura from head to toe. Washing it out of their hair took two parents, a big scrub brush and a giggling Jubilee with her phone. The Instagram comments were enough embarrassing material to use for months.

Logan - the secret Canadian Gordan Ramsey he was - made them a typical roasted chicken with spiced stuffing, and a dish of baked potatoes smothered with pimiento cheese and chili for Anna and Laura, just the way they liked it. With Kurt's help, Ororo brewed up a family recipe of koshari from Egypt, with special sauces and enough macaroni to fill a WalMart. Anna, Laura and Jubilee finished up their moist chocolate and pumpkin cheesecake and whipped up a few bowls of chocolate mouse to go with it.

Leading up to the meal, Anna had been catching up with recent events while recalling her own tales (that didn't include a certain Cajun - she refused to ever think about him again, and she was going to keep her stubborn word): Kendall had almost knocked her front teeth out last week on the way home; one of the bulls had escaped its pen and almost trampled Logan (Laura had actually reigned the beast back into its enclosure while the farm hands panicked); Kurt had gotten back in contact with a girl from Bayville High and Evan was trying to hook him and Amanda up. No success yet. Jubilee had turned down an offer for a place on the student council and then made a senior bully cry for three hours; Ororo had organised a highly successful children's book fair last month for the kindergarten, and had also finally grown her hybrid roses in the greenhouse after a year of failed attempts.

Anna felt practically at home with her big, dysfunctional family, but best of all, she was happy.

"Marie, how is Kitty doing with her new boyfriend?" Ororo asked from across the table, eyeing the phone in her step-daughter's hands.

"Boyfriend?" Laura and Jubilee echoed. Logan mouthed the word like a strange taste and scowled at it.

"Why are we never told anything?" Laura gave Anna a look and her half-sister shrugged, pointing at Ororo.

"Sorry girls. It must've slipped my mind." She replied, chewing another mouthful of rice and lentil with a smug smile.

"Jou don't text her either." Kurt muttered under his breath as he stared at his phone screen. Jubilee elbowed him and he put it down, going back to his huge appetite.

"It's not even official yet anyways." Anna glanced at her phone, quickly scrolling through the newest texts from her social circle. "Kitty told meh they're 'takin' a break' ta learn more 'bout each other and be friends first."

"Good." Logan grumbled, spinning his fork around his chicken, stuffing and cheesy potato. "Is he a good kid?"

"Yes, Papa Logan. Piotr's great." Anna smirked, locking her phone screen. The others sniggered and Logan shook his head. She couldn't blame him; Kitty had practically been his third daughter before Jubilee and Kendall had come along, and he had been the one to make Lance fear for his life when the break up happened. His memory wasn't the best, but he would never forget that day.

"He's Russian, and an art school graduate." Ororo's words calmed Logan and he nodded, biting into his food.

"Yeah, he's a real good artist." Anna said. "Kitty showed meh some of his new project."

She went through her phone again and held up a photo Kitty had taken with Dani, a pile of paint and a picture frame hanging by an open sketchbook. The page was currently blank, but Anna knew it and many others would be full before they had finished eating.

"Dani's helpin' him with it apparently."

"Dani...?" Logan asked under his breath.

"The penpal." The rest of the table answered in unison. Logan took a moment and nodded before cutting up a chicken leg for Kendall and shooing Kurt away from sneaking a potato from her plate.

"Don' worry 'bout her, Dad. I can kick Pete's butt if he does her wrong." Anna finished her plate and pushed it away, stretching her legs out far into Laura's chair, which almost sent her flying. She kicked back and Kendall giggled loudly when Anna raspberried in return.

Logan just nodded again and went back to eating.

"Anything else?" Laura stabbed a tomato and dunked it into a thick curry sauce.

"Other than mah GPA? Nah, Ah'm borin'." Anna chuckled and looked down at the newest text from Kitty.

[[ _ughhh so bored!_ ]]

[[ _go bother Pete_ ]]

[[ _can't. He's texting Remy to ask about dinner. timezones n stuff_ ]]

[[ _KITTY_ ]]

[[ _omg are u serious_ ]]

[[ _YES_ ]]

[[ _U CAN'T AVOID HIM FOREVER HES PIOTRS BEST FRIEND_ ]]

[[ _I CAN TRY_ ]]

[[ _ANNA MARIE UR A BUMFACE_ ]]

[[ _the best you'll ever know_ ]]

"Anna, one text at a time." Logan warned gently, poking at her shin with his foot. The eldest daughter shot up and turned her phone onto its screen, huffing at her white bangs. "Ey, don't get angsty at me, young lady. You know the rules."

"Ah know, Dad. Kitty's annoyin' meh."

"What else is new?" Laura cackled and held up a hand. Jubilee high-fived her across the table. Ororo stared with narrowed eyes at them both, and they shrunk back into their seats, but still snickering.

Kurt's phone buzzed and he threw a glance to Anna. She rolled her shoulders nonchalantly, pushing her phone away from her. Kurt opened the message anyway.

"Kitty says jou need to 'get over vhatever hate boner you have for Remy already und grow up'." Kurt raised his eyebrows, lips perking up when Anna's face twisted into a deep scowl.

Laura and Jubilee blew into a riot of laughter and Kendall joined in a moment later, almost dropping her juice cup onto her plate of food.

"Tell Kitty she jus' ruined Thanksgivin' 'n' tainted mah house with that friggin' asshole's name."

Ororo's stare turned to ice cold stone, killing all the laughter in the air and Logan sat up as well, managing to have distracted Kendall from the language.

"I think," Ororo set her utensils down, carefully picking her words with her quiet voice, "that's enough texting at this table tonight."

The eldest children quickly sent their last messages to Kitty ([[ _you will rue this day_ ]], [[ _banished to non-phone-dom bbl_ ]]) before handing the phones down to Logan. He pocketed them and went back to Kendall.

"You'll get them back in the morning, no negotiations. Y'know the rules."

"Yes'sir." They parroted, poking at their drinks and avoiding Logan's stern glare.

"We'll be talkin' about this later as well." He said, tipping his youngest daughter's cup up for the last drops of juice. "If this 'Rem' guy is such a problem that you forget basic house rules, we need to sort it out."

"It ain't a current problem, Pop." Anna sighed, rubbing away the headache that was never supposed to follow her home. "He was jus' a...a jerk face that got drunk, broke int' our apartment an' turned out t' be Piotr's best friend. We don' get along."

"Ooooh, what a tweest." Jubilee chuckled, leaning over to nudge her sister. "I like him already."

"Ugh, please don't." Anna rolled her eyes back and stared at the ceiling. "Besides, we haven' seen 'im in a week so I assume he's gone back to rot in whatever hole he crawled out of."

"Or he saw your face und ran avway." Kurt pulled his legs back and the others laughed when Anna missed her kick.

"Much better." Ororo murmured under her breath, watching her beloved family through half-lidded eyes. It was nowhere close to perfect or conventional, but it was everything the older woman could have wished for in her days back in Cairo, and possibly more.

**0XX0**

Hours after Kendall had been put to sleep and the other 'children' had been sent to their rooms for the night, Logan was patrolling the hallways as per usual, picking up random messes and listening out for any criminal noise coming from the bedrooms. Putting side a pair of belts and an earring he nearly stepped on, Logan spotted his wife hovering outside a door that was cracked open.

She glanced to him and smiled, beckoning him over. Logan did so and peeked into the room. The kids were all sprawled out on the guest bed; Anna over the pillows, Kurt sat on the end of the bed, with Laura and Jubilee squeezed between them and a thick blanket. The younger two had their phones out and they were all laughing at something on the screens.

"Oh my God, look at his face!"

"What is with that haircut? He looks like a mushroom that escaped 1999!"

"Ah can't breath, holy crap…"

Anna clutched at her sides, red in the face and curling up into a ball. Jubilee clapped her on the back, wheezing between laughs.

"I-I told you… T-This was a g-great idea!"

Anna laughed again and Kurt pulled her up to sit as he wiped his eyes dry.

"P-Play ze next one." Laura nodded and swiped her screen. The others crowded around her and the parents leant in to better hear it.

" _Captain's log, stardate 44614.6. We are approaching Star base 313…_ "

"Kirk's de best Captain, y'know."

A dramatic alarm noise...?

"Y' come int' MY HOUSE 'n' insult Captain Picard?! Y' prick!"

_**Smash!** _

"Holy shit, he's a giant nerd. This is the best blackmail." Anna giggled, falling back onto the pillows with her legs in the air. "Download 'em all. Ah need t' humiliate that Cajun."

"Will do." Laura smirked and gave her a thumbs up.

"Jou made the right judgement on him, sis." Kurt said, crossing his arms and pointing his nose up high. "Anybody who thinks Picard is ze best captain isn't right in ze head."

"Oh God, you're both giant nerds." Anna chortled and slapped her brother's arm. Kurt stuck his tongue out at her.

"Unlike Kurt, this LeBeau guy doesn't look half bad." Laura said, holding her phone away to get a better look at the image on screen. "Especially when the mushroom hair's grown out."

"Hey!" Kurt pouted and the girls just laughed.

"His lil' blonde cousin is pretty cute too." Jubilee whistled at her own screen. Anna flicked her ear. "Ow!"

"We're Google stalkin' for blackmail on my arch nemesis, not judgin' his family's looks."

"Alright, alright." Jubilee pulled down her cardigan and set her face straight. "Serious stalk mode."

Logan snorted and crossed his arms, leaning against the wall. Ororo shook her head and ran a hand through his greying hair. Such mature children they had.

"Anythin' on tha Instagram account?" Anna asked, turning to Laura. The brunette shook her head.

"Just lots of pics of him with a middle aged woman, I think? His mom?" Laura squinted her eyes and Anna peeked at the screen, only to flinch away and shudder harshly.

"Ughhh, Ah wish." She made a face of disgust. "That's his oh-so-perfect girlfriend, Bella Primadonna Bitch Face. Heavy smoker 'n' tha most possesive freak Ah've ever met."

"Ew." Laura put her phone down, rubbing her hands down her arms. Logan perked up, leaning in closer.

"Pretty sure the Cajun's got claw marks on his arms from the way she's always grabbin' 'im. Yall shoulda seen the look she gave meh on Kitty's date night; like a lion that was gonna maul meh for jus' lookin' at her gazelle. Completely insane."

Logan pursed his lips and stepped back from the door, scratching his chin. Ororo put her hands on his shoulders gently.

"Dear, are you alright?" She asked, watching his expression shifting.

"Yeah. Yeah, I am." He sighed heavy and dropped his shoulders. "Just thinkin'."

"About what?" Ororo pulled them further from the door, keeping her voice low.

"Just…" Logan closed his eyes and sighed again. "Last time I heard somethin' like that, a woman I know was attacked, by her husband."

Ororo stiffened and her grip tightened. Logan put a hand over one of her's. His wife had always hated accounts of violence against women (or anybody, really), and had a large part in training their daughters in self-defense.

"Do you think…?"

"We can't assume anything." Logan said, rubbing the back of his neck. "We don't know the whole story. Anna could just be exaggerating."

"Perhaps…" Ororo looked away, biting down on her lip. Logan patted her arm and walked back to the bedroom door, opening it wide.

"Kids, time for bed." Whining voices rose up but Logan just walked away, warning them to hurry up. Ororo rubbed the edges of her eyes, licking her dry lips. Then she darted to the stairs, heading down to their bedroom with thoughts racing and barely holding together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And another chapter has come to pass. A super long one at that! Sorry for the delay; I've been busy with life and other projects, as well as my beta finishing up school for the year. Please go give her some love on her tumblr (cartoonanimegirl)!
> 
> As for this chapter: This is merely the introduction to a few important characters that will be further explored in later chapters (but not fully; this is still Rogue and Kitty's story)...and it also made me realise how I hate writing Bella as a villain. But you reap what you sow and I'm not going to harm Remy's situation by changing anything with Bella now or ever. However, I will be writing a sequel to my one-shot fic La Veste that features Bella and there, she'll be written as I love seeing her. I can't promise an exact date for the sequel right now, but it'll be done before Halloween!
> 
> On a last note, thank you for all the reviews and kudos! They really make my day! Please keep sending them and be sure to check out my art tumblr (lochcamaenarts) for future doodles based on this fic! Also check out the timeline I mentioned at the beginning!
> 
> Translations:
> 
> Ma petite fille - My little girl  
> Boug - Boy  
> Mais - But  
> Mon dieu - My god  
> Neg - A term of endearment used between Cajun. It is not said to or around black people, as they view it as an offensive slur  
> Désolé - Sorry  
> Ma maison - My house  
> Paw Paw - Cajun term for Grandpa  
> Mamere - Grandma  
> Make a bahbin - to pout  
> Bon rien - A good for nothing man/lazy man  
> Frère - Brother  
> Père - Father  
> Baruch atah adonai elokeinu melech haolam - Blessed Are You God, our Lord, King of the World. The beginning of a Jewish blessing before meals, or bracha


	9. Homecoming Break

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter comes your way! I’ll be quick, but I just wanted to thank my beta editor, cartoonanimegirl, once again for doing such great work, especially during the end of the school year.
> 
> And also thank you to everyone who has read, favourited, followed and reviewed WMBS so far! 5000 views on FF.net and 1000 on AO3 already! And we’re not even scratching the surface of this story yet, oh-hohohohoho~
> 
> Be sure to check the Tiki-Toki timeline for this fic! The link is back at chapter 7, so go look!

Anna smiled at the sound of Lockheed's yowling from the other side of the door, which only got louder once she turned the key in and pushed the door open.  


The Russian Blue zipped to her legs and began brushing up against her, purring loudly and mewling at her. Anna dumped her luggage behind the door and scooped the cat into her arms. Lockheed rubbed his damp nose against her cheek.  


"Eww, wet nose!" Anna rushed to the couch and dumped him onto it, quickly wiping her face clean and looking around the space.  


From the looks of it, the Robinson couple had kept the apartment clean and tidy for them while taking care of Lockheed. There were a few cat toys thrown around and some bits of dry food here and there (what was it with cats and playing with their food? Seriously), but otherwise the place was spotless.  


Anna inhaled deeply, taking in the scents of lavender air freshener, paper cat litter and the old mould that never went away no matter what. It was the smell of college home, sweet college home.

 

"Ah do wish there weren' lectures 'tween now 'n' Christmas," Anna sighed to Lockheed, who was pacing around her feet. "But oh well. You'd be all lonesome an' we can't have that, can we?"

 

Lockheed mewled at her and then lay down to roll over, staring up at her with those big shiny yellow eyes Kitty loved so much (she did too, but not to the same extent). Anna put her hands on her hips and stared back.

 

"What's that gonna accomplish, huh?" She shook her head and muttered under her breath. Lockheed pawed at her ankle.

 

God, Ah look crazy talkin' to a cat, Anna thought. She stretched her back, cracking a few sore joints, and shuffled to the kitchen. Checking for new messes and the fridge stock, she saw that it was just as they left it, except for a missing can of peaches and bottles of fresh milk. Kitty could thank the Robinsons later.

 

Lockheed newled again and Anna turned to see him in full.

 

"Ah don't know where ya Momma is, boy. She'll be back soon." She brushed her bangs back and started making herself a mug of sweet iced tea; a pure southern treasure the damn northerners didn't appreciate.

 

Going through the motions so practiced that it was practically muscle memory, Anna thought back to the week's events. Despite the drama of Thanksgiving night, she and Kurt had managed to make peace with Ororo (perhaps a bit too easily; she seemed distracted after that night, and far too curious about college. It was weird), and they spent their remaining time working around the ranch with the farmhands.

 

She and Jubilee had also accumulated a noteworthy archive of blackmail to use against a certain LeBeau. Oh, he would rue the day he next annoyed her-

 

"Lockheed!" The cat cried and ran for the door, jumping up into Kitty's arms and crawling all over her shoulders. Kitty laughed and cuddled him close. "Oh, my sweet baby. Did you miss me?"

 

"Yes, Momma. More than anythin'." Anna answered, smirking as she poked her head out of the kitchen. Kitty snapped her head up and smiled wide at the sight of her best friend.

 

"Anna!" Kitty threw her arms out, leaving the cat to cling to her shoulder, and Anna walked over to be pulled into the furry hug. "You actually survived the wrath of Munroe. What a miracle."

 

"Next time, Ah'll walk on water." Anna smiled as well, hugging Kitty back tightly. The smile stayed, even as they pulled away, and Anna couldn't help but feel a complete contentness. "Where's tha 'Russian bear'?"

 

"Oh god, Dani told you." Kitty hid her red face in her hands while Anna laughed. That certain texting thread had been the highlight of Black Friday for the Howlett household. Laura and Jubilee had probably already sent a bunch of messages about it to the poor girl.

 

"Ah will test the theory for m'self." She said, looking around the doorway.

 

"I kinda rushed up here after talking to ," Kitty said, cradling a purring Lockheed in her arms once again and avoiding Anna's gaze. "They're probably on their way up."

 

Anna tutted at her and Kitty ducked her head, flushed with embarrassment. The Southerner rolled her eyes, stepping back into the kitchen for her tea.

 

"Ya better go apologise ta Snuffleupagus."

 

"Shaddup, he thinks it's cute." Kitty pouted and glared at her friend, which only served to make her laugh again.

 

Anna then went to pour her tea into a mug and made an immediate beeline for the door. Kitty held onto Lockheed as she followed her into the narrow hallway.

 

"C'mon, let's find tha Russians yall abandoned." Anna sipped at her tea, smirking into it when Kitty spluttered out her weak defense down the hallway.

 

At the top of the stairwell, Anna peered over the railing upon hearing the sound of voices below them. Blonde hair poked out a few floors down, followed by a cry of 'Bohze moi!'

 

"Uh, pivot!" She shouted. The blonde head poked out as well, looking up and smiling at Anna.

 

" _Privet_!" Illyana shouted back, even waving at her. "Is sugar plum fairy vith you?"

 

Kitty exclaimed loudly and almost flung herself over the stair railings, with Lockheed clutching his claws into her arm. "That was once, you cow milker!"

 

"Still count!" Illyana laughed and pulled herself back in. "We be up now!"

 

"Oh, God... Don' rush!" Anna jumped down the rest of the stairs, holding onto the railing as she leapt over the remaining steps. She almost collided with Piotr mid-jump two floors down, and held onto the railing to avoid a tumble with the far heavier man.

 

"Close call." Piotr rumbled, shifting his feet and adjusting his hold on the multiple luggage bags hanging off his arms. Illyana popped up behind him with her own smaller bags.

 

"Kitty!" Anna frowned at the sight and curled her hands on her hips. "Carry ya own damn bags!"

 

"Sorry!" Kitty cried as she finally reached them, trying to stop Lockheed from clawing away from the madness. "I got carried away and totally forgot."

 

"Apology accepted." Piotr said, sliding off a few bags and handing them over to Kitty. She hoisted them up onto her free shoulder and smiled. Anna couldn't help but to chuckle a little bit; it seemed that Piotr had gotten the 'How To Remind Kitty To Behave Properly' talk from Carmen and Terri.

 

The four of them went back to their respective apartments, putting their bags into their rooms before gathering around the Rasputin couch. Anna shared more mugs of her iced tea; Lockheed sprawled over the cushions with a napping Illyana, while Piotr and Kitty shared space on the sole armchair.

 

"It's been forever since we were in here together." Kitty relaxed back, eyes half closed and legs curled up. Anna shrugged and sat on the floor next to the coffee table.

 

"Ah dunno 'bout 'forever'. It's way too soon ta go back t' classes...or work." She said, flipping her short hair back and staring at the clock on the wall that read twenty past one.

 

"Did they already call you in for a shift?" Kitty opened her eyes fully to stare at Anna. She nodded. "Can they even give you a break?!"

 

"They don' expect meh ta work after March, or durin' summer vacation." She explained. "It's only a job for the semesters."

 

"Still, it's a lot of added stress."

 

"Says the one who does late shifts in the IT department." Anna raised an eyebrow as she sipped from her tea, watching as Kitty delved back into glaring mode.

 

"If you're good at something, never do it for free." She pointed her nose up and relaxed into Piotr's shoulder again, barely budging him from his phone screen.

 

"Exactly." Anna finished her mug and put it aside, reaching out to scratch Lockheed's ears. "I've got a couple hours to m'self 'fore I need ta go, anyway."

 

"How long is your shift?" Piotr asked, jolting Kitty out of her trance. Anna turned to look at him as well, confusion written all over her face.

 

"Uh, 'til seven?"

 

"Do you know where Sousa Gallery is?" He asked, not looking up from his phone. Kitty glanced down at the screen from her spot, her mouth forming into a small 'o' shape.

 

"Yeah, it's right across the street by the campus." Anna answered, sitting cross-legged and holding her ankles. "Do ya need somethin' from there?"

 

" _Da_ , if you don't mind." Piotr put his phone down, rubbing the back of his neck but still avoiding her gaze. "You see, Remy is working on exhibition tonight, and I can't reach him on phone or e-mail. I have doctor appointment that day, so I can't go myself…"

"Ahh, alright. Sure, Ah''ll do it."

 

…

 

"What!" Kitty jumped out of her seat and almost toppled Anna over, putting her hand over her forehead. "Are you sick? Who the hell are you? Anna would never say something like that!"

 

"Calm down, Nurse Joy." Anna pushed Kitty away from her and tidied her bangs, smirking. "Y'see, Jubilee is a wonderful lil' sister 'n' helped me find Remy's cousin's Vine account, plus his Facebook, Instagram an' Twitter. All full of the greatest blackmail material known ta man."

 

"...You are truly the pinnacle of human maturity, Anna." Kitty blinked, scooting away into her own seat. Anna's smirk grew and she chuckled.

 

"Oh, Ah could be sooo much worse, sugah. Besides, it'll be fun ta watch the colour drain from 'is face. What do ya need from him, Pete?"

 

**0XX0**

 

Right on the dot of 3PM, Anna arrived to the bookstore in her drab uniform and ready to drag her feet through the next four hours. On her phone she had Piotr's messages to give to Remy, as well as all the video files of his cousin humiliating him online, and hourly reminders of what to do once she left work.

 

As always, her main task for this shift was to sort through inventory and help out at the register if need be. This meant staying in the back room for a good majority of the afternoon, but in the few moments Anna was out near the front, she caught herself stealing glances out of the window toward the Sousa Gallery of Fine Arts just down the street. There were a few vans here and there, but nothing special.

 

No sign of the Cajun, certainly.

 

This continued on for a while, though Anna wasn't sure why; a sense of dread in the back of her mind turned her curious. Weren't Remy and Piotr close friends? Why were the calls and e-mails going ignored? If that Cajun was messing with Pete…

 

Anna was ushered back into the storage room by her manager, and she cursed under her breath. She kept an ear out, trying to listen out for any word on the commotion across the street. Apart from some freshmen gossip ("You think anyone famous is gonna show up?" "Eh, doubt it. We're in the middle of nowhere." "I dunno, Tony Stark was here a couple weeks ago-" "Oh my God, and you didn't tell me?!"), there was nothing.

 

(Ugh, it hadn't even been a month since Remy had broken in. Why can't time go faster.)

 

More hours passed until Anna was jerked out of her work trance by her phone buzzing in her pocket. She checked it and saw her shift was coming to a close at long last.

 

"Headin' out!" Anna called out to the near-empty store as she shrugged her coat on and tied up her thick scarf. A few disjointed voices said their goodbyes as she clocked out, and escaped out the back into the late autumn/early winter air crisp against her skin.

 

A shiver went up her back and she tucked her hair into her beanie, then flipped her hood up for extra cover. Walking out onto the open street with only moonlight and a few street lamps lighting her way, Anna spied the media fuss outside the gallery and followed Piotr's instruction to head inside by the kitchen entrance at the side of the building.

 

Anna soon found herself in the middle of a constant flow of uniformed people, all shouting over each other while passing through the doors that weren't even half as maintained as the plants at the front of the building. The Southerner took a step back to avoid a face full of finger foods and bumped into a sharp brick wall.

 

"Ow! Friggin' elbows…"

 

"What are you doing out here?"

 

Anna yelped and pressed herself against the wall, staring up at the towering figure standing before her, and reaching for the keys in her coat pocket.

 

"Whoa, whoa there! I didn't mean to scare ya, lil' lady." The figure boomed, and took a step backwards to stand under the single lamp in the gloomy alley. Kitchen staff flowed around him, keeping a good distance from the intimidating man.

 

Anna took another look at him, taking in his clean black suit (a bouncer?) and much gentler features. His brown eyes matched his dark complexion, looking so warm that Anna felt completely safe and relaxed under his gaze now.

 

"Ah...Sorry, Ah'm just lookin' for someone." She said, taking her phone out of her other pocket. "Ah'm here on behalf of Piotr Rasputin, an' Ah need ta talk t' Remy LeBeau for him."

 

Pushing aside her revulsion for the name on her tongue, Anna straightened her back and watched the taller black man startle with recognition.

 

"Oh, Big Petey? I didn't think he knew any women 'side from his sister." He laughed, a loud jolly sound that was almost infectious. "That's fine, I'll go grab Remy for ya. Stand in the kitchen so ya don't catch a cold."

 

The man led Anna through the doors and into the much warmer steel interior of the bustling kitchen. Steam blew into her eyes and she blinked it out as she was put against an empty counter.

 

"Stay here, I'll be right back, Miss…?"

 

"Uh...tell 'im it's 'Rogue'. He'll know what it means."

 

He nodded. "Sure thin'. An' if anyone tries to move you, tell them you're with Luke."

 

Anna nodded back. Luke then winked, smiled and strode out of the kitchen with a stride bursting with a confidence Anna wasn't sure existed until now. She let out a breath of relief once he was out of sight, grasping her bag and phone, and repeating Piotr's instructions again in her head.

 

Anna Howlett wasn't one to be forgetful (Dad was more than thankful), nor nervous, but now she didn't want to risk leaving out a single detail. Piotr was counting on her to help with his important work, otherwise he would have arranged a time to do this himself, and Anna didn't want to disappoint.

 

She crossed her arms, revelling in the warmth (screw the Northern states for having snow so early). The staff more or less ignored her, so she allowed herself a moment to relax and run away with her thoughts. She had money for a quick cab home (no way was she walking home in the dark); she could do an hour or two of studying with Kitty, then go to bed early. Wake up at 5AM, open up the store, rush to first lecture, meet Tabitha for an early lunch…

 

God, my life is jus' one schedule after another, Anna closed her eyes and dwelled on that thought. Not that she hated the business of her life (it kept her on a good routine with her life), but she couldn't keep the stress away for more than a week at most. She was sure it was going to kill her one day.

 

It would have to wait until she graduated. She hadn't been through college hell for nothing.

 

Spotting movement by the doorway, Anna lifted her head and saw Luke walking back into the kitchen, with Remy in tow. Or, at least, she assumed it was him.

 

The pale man trailing behind Luke barely held a resemblance to the one Anna knew as Remy LeBeau. His auburn hair was a rat's nest that hung over his eyes too much, while this guy had all his locks greased back and was even clean shaven (the Cajun tended to look a day away from a hobo beard) save for a stupid-looking goatee. And he had an actual fashion taste with his dark pressed trousers, red dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a black suit vest.

 

Anna was one hundred percent sure Luke had brought in a secret brother or something, but then eyes met and there was. The.

 

Goddamn.

 

 _Smirk_.

 

"Hooooly shit, Ah'm dreamin'." Anna said as Luke and Remy stood before her. "There's no way that's tha Swamp Rat. Too clean."

 

Luke glanced Remy once over. "Sounds 'bout right."

 

Remy scoffed and put his hands on his hips, putting on his most offended face. The look quickly disappeared and he scanned the room, running a hand through his hair. Which was when Anna noticed his bandaged wrist. An old thought twitched in the back of her mind, but Anna tore her gaze away to look Remy in the eye again.

 

"I'm guessin' y' not 'ere for niceties, huh?" Remy asked, crossing his arms.

 

"Nah, y'know why Am'm here." She answered, mirroring his lopsided stance. Remy nodded and stepped closer.

 

"Luke, we're gonna talk outside. Cover?"

 

Luke confirmed and followed the two Southerners to the back door, away from the fuss of the catering kitchen staff. Remy looked around again, putting his hands in his pockets and turning to Anna.  


"I heard Pete has a new project planned," Remy said, standing under the bright street lamp. "I'm guessin' he's movin' it fast if he sent y' to talk."

 

"Yeah, somethin' like that." Anna replied, preparing for whatever bullshit excuse he threw at her. "Piotr would be here, 'cept he's got an appointment. Gave meh a list an' everythin'."

 

"List?" He echoed. She nodded and held out her phone. He took it and skimmed the screen. "Ah, dat's good. I can sort 'im out, no problem. Can I send him a quick text?"

 

"Uh...sure," Anna blinked and suddenly felt uneasy. "Ya own phone broke? Pete's been tryin' ta reach ya for ages now."

 

"I'd assumed…" Remy murmured as his fingers flew over the screen in typing. "Lost m' phone at the bayou, 'n' my laptop…"

 

He looked around again.

 

"Can' reach it for a while."

 

Anna caught Luke staring over his shoulder at them. The twitch returned.

 

"It's been a mess dis week doin' work, but I'll fix it in no time, Rogue." Remy said as he sent one last message and returned the phone. "Is dat all?"

 

"Ah did have a rant prepared 'case you were bein' a douche…" Anna waved her hands and frowned. "But I wanna go home 'fore Ah get mugged. So y' spared t'day."

 

"Hallelujah." Remy chuckled, shaking his head and nudging Luke with his elbow. "I better get back t' work. Tell Illyana I said hi 'n' all."

 

"Sure, Swamp Rat." Anna rolled her eyes but froze when Remy smiled at her - a proper smile - and walked away laughing. Huh, weird.

 

"Have a safe walk home, missy." Luke's voice jolted her. He was smiling now and patting her shoulder. "Careful 'round the corner. Lamp's busted an' some thugs like to hang there."

 

"Oh, thanks." Anna shoved her hands into her pockets, biting her cheek. "Can Ah ask somethin'?"

 

"Depends." Luke replied. "What's to know?"

 

"What the hell did he do to 'is arm?"

 

"Well, he tells me a cat got 'im," Luke answered, leaning in and lowering his voice. "but I got a look. Must've been a biiig cat."

 

Anna set her mouth firm when Luke raised his eyebrows at her. She nodded and stepped back, pushing away her own confusion at the unsaid message.

 

"Thanks again, Luke. See ya." Anna turned on her heel and almost bolted away, not looking back to see Luke waving to her.

 

She made it out to the open, empty street and took in a deep breath to cool her chest burning with anxiety. She adjusted her hood and began walking again, taking her phone out. Calling a taxi would be her best option at this time of night.

 

Unlocking the screen, Anna saw it open on the text thread Remy had started with Piotr.

 

Ugh, lazy assh-

 

Anna took a second look at the messages sent, gaping at the words.

 

[[ _hey pete, Swamp Rat here_ ]]

 

[ _[...ddi Rogue change the auto correct on my name?_ ]]

 

[[ _holy shit that's amazing_ ]]

 

[[ _besides the point: I need to get hold of my burners once Bella's out of the house. She took cell + laptop's at repairs. she got mad at home bout Fisk_ ]]

 

[[ _i'll be back on business soon. don't worry about me, any of you_ ]]

 

And one message left unsent in the text box:

 

[[ _You too, Rogue. I got it sorted. i'll be fine don't say a word_ ]]

 

"Like hell Ah won't." Clutching her phone tight and picking up her pace, Anna began her long sprint back home.

 

**0XX0**

 

Kitty and Illyana jumped high from their textbooks and laptops when Anna busted the door door, and stormed into her apartment.

 

"What the hell, Anna?!" Kitty yelled as she rubbed her behind, glaring at the Southerner. Illyana fell flat onto her back, and then rolled over to close the door.

 

Anna stomped over to the landline phone, picked it up and started dialing. Kitty then noticed just how dirty Anna was- was that blood on her hand?!

 

She leapt onto her feet and tore the phone away before it got to the second ring.

 

"Kitty!"

 

"Anna Marie, explain yourself!" Kitty exclaimed, glaring down her friend with a bright, burning anger.

 

"Kitty, Ah need to call the police."

 

"No, you need to call an ambulance for the bleeding!"

 

"Wha-?" Anna looked down at her hands, finally seeing the bloodied one. "Huh, that must've been from the nose Ah broke."

 

"What?!" Kitty and Illyana screeched.

 

"Ah was runnin' back 'ere from the gallery and an idiot tried to jump meh-"  


"You ran?!" Kitty bellowed, her high voice turning gravely and hellish. Illyana moved back, wide-eyed.

 

"Ah was rushin'! Ah haven' got time for this; gimme that phone."

 

"No." Kitty returned the phone to its socket on the wall and crossed her arms, still glaring. "We don't need the police around here."

 

"It's not for us, it's for Remy." That made Kitty stand to full attention, mouth agape and eyes carefully watching. "Ah think he's in real trouble with Bella. Ya shoulda seen his arm tonight; it was bandaged over claw marks, an' she's been takin' his stuff over a hissy fit…"

 

"No point in calling police," Illyana said, staring up at the ceiling. "They won't care."

 

"What do you mean?" Kitty asked, looking down at the blonde.

 

"Illyana, you knew?" Anna stepped forward and Illyana sat up right away, ducking her head to hide her face behind her hair.

 

"Da, we do." She answered quietly, barely keeping her voice above a whisper. "When I move here, I found out and call police."

 

She cleared her throat and pulled her head up, speaking in a clear American accent.

 

"I'm sure you're worried, ma'am, but we don't get involved with personal matters between a man and his partner."

 

Illyana pursed her lips and let out a shaky sigh, avoiding gazes and blinking her eyes dry of the angry tears that always accompanied that memory.

 

"I tell them Remy's life was in danger, so they send officer a week later… There was 'no evidence', so they left. Bella almost broke his ribs."

 

She sniffed and wiped at her eyes, biting down on her lip as she remembered the day - the moment - she had found out. Her begging forgiveness from Remy in the hospital room and praying to a God she didn't believe in that he would be okay, as well as Piotr never finding out what she did. The immense guilt overpowered her and her breath hitched. Kitty fell down beside, holding her close while Anna flopped down onto the couch with twitching hands.

 

"There has t' be somethin' we can do."

 

Illyana shook her head, leaning into Kitty's grip. "She'll hurt him, vorse."

 

"We can' sit on our asses an' do nothin' either!" Anna sat up, fully indignant.

 

Nothing else was said by any of the women, each staying in their places until Kitty stood up and left the apartment without a word. Anna exhaled loudly, leaning against her knees. Illyana wiped her face dry and crossed her legs.

 

"He said hi, by the way." Anna said.

 

Illyana chuckled, smiling softly.

 

"Thank you."

 

**0XX0**

 

Once he had time to himself again, Piotr sat himself down in front of a blank canvas and his many sketchbooks, filled to the brim with thumbnails and his research notes. He twisted a pencil between his fingers, narrowing his eyes at the white nothingness.

He knew what he wanted to appear, but where could he start?

 

Piotr switched his pencil for a soft graphite and put it to the canvas, hastily drawing a rectangle in the middle of the space before moving onto circles within the form.

 

A well-practiced face soon started to take shape and he added a little detail, nothing more. Black hair then flowed down from the drawn scalp, forming into familiar twists and figures. The hair was thickened before Piotr stopped and sat back.

 

Empty eyes stared back at him and he shivered, tightening his grip on the graphite.

 

This wouldn't do.

 

A loud barrage of knocking disturbed Piotr from his train of thought, and it continued as he got up to answer it. A small fist almost hit him in the face when he opened the door and he looked down to see Kitty standing in the doorway.

 

Angry

 

At...him?

 

"Is something wrong, Katya?" He asked, barely avoiding her path as she walked straight past him. Once he shut the door, she turned on him.

 

"Did you know?" She demanded, leaving Piotr in confusion.

 

"Know about vhat? Did something happen?"

 

"Yes!" Kitty shouted, but calmed quickly. "Yes, for a while apparently."

 

Piotr moved to stand in front of Kitty, trying to lower himself to her eye level. Her hands curled up into tight fists, but he kept close and prompted her to elaborate.

 

"This...this damn thing between Remy and Bella!" Kitty threw her hands up in the air, waving them in an attempt to gather her words. "She's been...hurting him."

 

The proper, more accurate term choked on her tongue, but the meaning still came across. Piotr put his hands on her shoulders, looking her right in the eye.

 

"Kitty, how did you find out?" He asked, his expression conveying the very seriousness of his tone and thoughts.

 

"Anna found out tonight-"

 

"How did she-?" Piotr turned to the door but Kitty grabbed his wrist before he could move away.

 

"You didn't answer my question."

 

…

 

" _Piotr_."

 

He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. "Da. I've known almost as long as I've known him...about six years now."

 

"Six?" Kitty raised her voice again, tightening her grip on him. "Why haven't you done anything?"

 

"I tried, few years ago." He answered, staring at the door with his back to her. "I can't force confession out of Remy. I help vhere I can, but he refuses to leave her; she trapped him."

 

"It's still not right. Hurting someone like that isn't love." Kitty whispered, holding onto his hand and intertwining their fingers. "Illyana told us what the cops said when she reported it, but-"

 

"She did what?" Piotr turned to her again, a dangerous glint in his eyes that froze Kitty to her spot. She stuttered, realising that there was something Illyana hadn't told her closest companion.

 

Piotr let out a Russian curse and pulled his arm away, exiting the apartment for the one opposite. More Russian came through the doors, making Kitty gulp and follow after him.

 

Anna and Illyana were on the couch together with Lockheed. The blonde was speaking to Piotr in their tongue, almost in tears again. Anna was watching them carefully, holding Illyana's shoulders. Kitty stood by the open door, shooting her friends an apologetic look.

 

"How did you find out?" Piotr asked in English, focusing on Anna. She flinched and reached into her coat pocket, taking out her phone to hand over.

 

"Ah was about ta call for a cab, but Ah guess he wanted me t' read the messages. Wasn' hard to figure out with all the pieces."

 

Piotr glanced over the texts he had gotten earlier, then read over the unsent one. He read it over and over, slowly calculating just why Remy had done this.

 

He and Anna did not get along - that was no secret. Yet this obvious call for help was directed at her, telling her not to say a word...but she did.  


"He told you not to talk about it, Rogue." He said. Anna rolled her eyes, as did Kitty.  


"As if she'd listen," Kitty replied. "Anna doesn't take orders from people she doesn't like."

 

"Hella." Anna nodded. "Doesn' take a genius ta figure that one out."

 

"He was counting on that." Piotr said, slowly pacing around the living room. "He hoped you tell someone, and it would get back to me."

 

"Why not just message you?" Kitty asked, staring at Piotr in a quiet, bristling awe.

 

"Hiding evidence." Illyana answered, standing up and taking the phone from her brother. "If there is no message to Piotr, there is nothing for Bella to be finding. She can't blame him again."

 

"If he's covering his tracks like this," Piotr said, scratching his chin slowly. "then we must tread carefully. If Bella suspects any of us, she will lash."

 

"What can we do then?" Anna asked, relaxing back into the couch. Now that she had, had time to think clearly and calm down from the initial anger (it was still there, just bubbling away elsewhere in her head), Anna felt like she was joining a bank heist rather than helping someone escape...that.

 

Jesus, was she so much of a coward that she couldn't even use the right words? Even a bastard like Remy deserved that dignity.

 

"Let me handle it." Piotr said, cracking his knuckles and furrowing his brow. "Rest of you stay as far from him until it's over."

 

"You make it sound difficult." Anna muttered, pushing herself off the couch and heading over to the kitchen.

 

 

"It's weird…" Kitty said, leaning against the wall. "Bella's a mega-bitch and all towards us, but she seemed so nice to him on our date night. Laughing, joking, smiling… They can't be the same person."

 

"Her tricks were more convincing six years ago." Piotr replied, heading back to the door. "Since Remy went to hospital-"

 

Illyana ducked her head again.

 

"-she has been...sloppy."

 

Piotr stood in the doorway, looking down at Kitty. She refused to look at him, crossing her arms.

 

"I know why you did it, but I'm still upset." She explained. "We barely know him but something could have been done…"

 

"No, but I understand your guilt." Piotr sighed and then went back into his home. "Sorry."

 

Once he shut the door, Kitty slumped down onto the floor and buried her head in her hands. Anna came back with a mug of tea, holding it in front of her friend until she took it and had a sip.

 

The world had just been flipped over, and only now was the hell just starting. They all just hoped Piotr could do something before it was too late.

 

**0XX0**

 

A few days later, amidst all the Christmas cheer and decoration of early December, Piotr began the first steps of his operation to pull Remy away from Bella. It was simple, in bullet-list form. Using the burner phones and public computers, the two of them had established private contact once again, and arranged to meet in Piotr's studio to check on his project's progress, and then head out for lunch to discuss business.

 

That part was true, certainly, as well as a cover for Piotr to properly talk about the messages. Once he was sure that it was sincere and a solid step towards leaving, then they could work around Bella's work schedule to move things out of the house discreetly, get Remy into a safe space while she rampages, and then…

 

Then, he wasn't so sure.

 

On paper, the plan was easy to follow. Easier said than done, that was for sure. Actually getting the gears in motion would be one of the most difficult things he would ever do in his entire life.

 

Currently, Piotr was standing in the middle of his shared studio, staring up at the spot where his canvas would eventually hang. The final piece would be far too large to move from the apartment, but he wasn't too worried about spending too much time working; Illyana could stay with Kitty if she wasn't working too late. And Rogue wouldn't mind checking in on her as well, once in a while. He could get this all done in under a month!

 

Piotr spun around at the sound of footfall on concrete and saw Remy walking toward him from the empty parking lot. He was dressed as his usual ratty self, despite the cold morning air that he despised (though he had the sense to wear gloves and a couple of jumpers under his trenchcoat today), as well as his best smile.

 

" _Mon ami_ , it's been too long!" He greeted, gripping Piotr's forearm in a firm handshake.

 

" _Da_." Piotr shook back and shifted on his feet, shoving his gloved hands into his coat pockets. "How's the arm?"

 

"Sore but not infected." Remy blew a strand of hair out of his eyes, grumbling. " _Mon Dieu_."

 

"Rogue said it looked bad." Remy blinked, looking up at his friend. Piotr raised an eyebrow. "She caught on quickly after zat message. Katya knows too."

 

"Jeez, I didn' expect her t' blab dat much." Remy huffed and bit his lip, hiding his hands in his pockets.

 

"She stopped her from calling police," Piotr explained. "like Illyana did."

 

Remy's eyes snapped wide open and he inhaled sharply, fear creeping up on him.

 

"D-Don' be mad at Yana, Pete. She… she was jus' scared of what'd happened."

 

"I know, but you told me you tripped down the stairs." Piotr stared down at Remy with narrowed eyes colder than any winters the Russian had lived through. Remy stepped back from him, gulping.

 

"I know, Pete. _Je suis désolé_ , really." Remy held up his hands in defense, wincing inwardly when pain shot up his arm to his shoulder. "She didn' want'cha t' send her away; she was terrified."

 

Piotr's shadow engulfed the Cajun, still staring down with eyes that flashed too eagerly. Remy contemplated making a run for it, when the facade fell and Piotr slouched his shoulders.

 

"Just be honest, Remy." He huffed, turning back to the empty space. "Let's get food."

 

" _Oui_." Remy nodded and followed Piotr out of the studio, locking the door and thanking Jesus, Mary and Joseph that he hadn't died right there. Piotr meant well but the man could give someone nightmares.

 

He hadn't been there. He hadn't seen Illyana's tear-stained face in that hospital room, or heard her sobbing Russian pleas. He had hardly known her then, but he couldn't refuse her.

 

Remy and Piotr went over to an outdoor deli (such brave people, in this snowy weather), ordered their food and waited at a frosted table. It wasn't the best choice, but they would look less suspicious if they had to huddle to talk. It was also freezing Remy's ass off but he wasn't going to complain to the guy that grew up in frigging Siberia.

 

"Remy, do you want out?" Piotr asked, leaning back in his seat and pulling down his hat.

 

"I do." He admitted, closing his eyes and feeling like a child confessing a sin to Tante Mattie. The bandages brushed against his skin and he clenched his fist. "Bella ain't de girl I fell in love with. I t'ought I could make up 'n' help her by stayin', but…"

 

Piotr just watched him, waiting.

 

"I messed up." Remy said after a moment, barely registering when their food was brought over. The look his father had given him after Bella had lashed out at dinner. The look that blamed him, judged him - made him feel monstrous.

 

"It's not your fault." Piotr stated, digging into his unwrapped food.

 

"It's hard, _mon ami_." Remy sighed. "I still love 'er, but… not her, y'know?"

 

"I understand." Piotr replied, holding back a sigh. This would be so much easier if Remy would just give up on Bella entirely, but that was another battle.

 

"If I could jus' help her…"

 

"This is best way." Piotr said, leaning against the table. "She'll know she messed up once you be gone."

 

That was a lie if he ever told one, but if it helped, he'd say anything. Remy's eyes lit up at that prospect and he took a bite out of his food.

 

"Plan?" He asked.

 

"You know me, _moy drug_. I'm always prepared."

 

The smile Remy gave him was all the motivation Piotr needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter come and gone, and the plot continues! Things are gonna get even more interesting in the next few chapters! Rogue’s even softening up, you know things are a-changing.
> 
> Once again, thanks to my beta for putting up with the rough drafts of these chapters, as well as my endless torturing of her soul~ If you check my Tumblr (lochcamaen / lochcamaenarts) and go through the ‘WMBS Trash’ tag, you’ll find art, plot and many ideas.
> 
> Also prepare yourselves for a prequel series, titled ‘Not Yet Met’ (that may change), that will come out after chapter 12 and will have chapters detailing events of the character’s lives before the start of this fic. I’m starting with Rogue’s first few months in Bayville as a pre-teen, but the series will explore multiple characters (even ones that are barely mentioned in this main story) at many points in their lives. Hopefully you’ll all enjoy it when it comes out!
> 
> And no translations for this chapter because I assume you all know what they mean already.


	10. A Cracked Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another day, another chapter. This one isn't as plot heavy as the last chapter, so I'm going to break my promise and give you all the prequel series a few chapters early! It's called 'Full Disclosure' and you can find it on my profile page. Just like this main story, it'll be cross-posted so updates will happen around the same time. Unlike this fic though, updating Full Disclosure will not be my top writing priority unless there's a large demand or I'm not focusing on this fic.
> 
> The first chapter of Full Disclosure will focus on the Howlett family's move to Bayville and Anna meeting some important characters that will not play major roles in this main fic. Go read it!

Kitty laid her head against her laptop, cursing under her breath. Of course it had been **_that_**.

Damn duck solving everything.

She sighed, lifting her head up to glare at the offending rubber animal. It did nothing.

"Better get back to it before you lose that genius, Kit."

Kitty sat up and stretched out her back just as Skye walked past her corner of a working station, smirking over a glossy doughnut (her real name was Daisy, but the Chinese-American insisted on being referred to as Skye; Kitty noticed a pattern in her choice of friends).

"I have photographic memory." Kitty stuck her tongue out at the smug woman, who just shook her head.

"As if," Skye chewed, laughing between each mouthful, brown eyes sparkling. "You'd forget your head if it wasn't screwed on, Kit."

"Ha ha." Kitty drawled, rolling her eyes. "Go hack into the Pentagon or something."

"Who says I'm not already?" Skye laughed again and finished off her doughnut, ignoring the glare Kitty sent her way.

"You better not." Kitty warned in a lowered voice. "I'm serious, Coulsonor will be on your ass if he finds out."

Skye slumped down into an office chair next to another desk and spun around, staring up at the ceiling. "Coulsonor's got a personal parking spot there already. You make friends with Anonymous one time…"

Kitty was about to remind the older student about her close call with prison but decided against it. Coulsonor wouldn't be pleased about digging up graves or whatever. (Coulsonor wasn't a real name; one of Dean Fury's secretaries had suggested it a few years back, and college Counselor Coulson hadn't objected to the nickname, so it had stuck ever since with just about everybody.

It was just a testament to how huge a **nerd** Coulson really was. Vintage Captain America comics, really?)

Kitty sighed and pulled herself to her laptop again, typing down the new coding. "Don't you have the semester project to finish?"

"Already did it." Skye sang in a country drawl. Kitty grunted. Of **_course_ ** she had already finished.

"Shouldn't you be off campus being a Cheshire cat, then?"

"Nah, I gotta do extra projects." Skye shrugged and spun around again. "Just waiting for the prof to fix Arcade's never-ending problems."

Kitty glanced over to the other side of the room, spotting Professor Russo fretting over a jumble of code and disastrous graphics opened in another window, while the red-head 'Arcade' was trying to fix the problem. Typical idiot. How did he get through the first year again?

"Wonderful." Kitty bowed her head down, typing again.

"I wouldn't stress too much," Skye said, pushing back her short hair and holding up her van keys. "I just consulted the Holy Duck of Rubber and viola, all the work is done."

She squeaked her purple duck keychain. Kitty snorted and squeaked her duck as well. The rubber ducks didn't work exactly like that, but they made everything so much simpler.

"Ladies!" Professor Russo called, making Skye and Kitty yelp in surprise. Professor Henry Russo - a young-looking man with cropped blonde hair, a square face, and pale skin that hadn't seen the sun in days - strode over to their desks and peered down at Kitty's laptop screen.

"Good work, Pryde. Keep it up." Professor Russo patted the back of Kitty's chair. He looked over to Skye and clicked his fingers at her. "Johnson, head to your desk. There's new projects for you there."

Skye pumped her fist into the air and rolled her chair away, ignoring the groans over 'stolen property' and cheering silently. Russo shook his head, leaning against Kitty's desk.

"Pryde, you're doing good stuff, but you've been lagging behind lately." He started, crossing his arms. "Are you focusing on finals alright? Is the project getting in the way?"

Finals?

 _ **Goddammit**_.

"N-No, it's not like that." Kitty answered, rubbing the back of her neck. All of the recent drama over Remy and then her… 'disagreement' with Piotr had been distracting both her and Anna; she had completely forgotten about finals! They were oh-so screwed.

"What is it then?" The professor asked, waving his hand in the air. "My job description says I have to help ya or something something."

Kitty bit her lower lip, wondering what she could tell him without giving too much away. Piotr wouldn't be too happy if a professor knew the current situation. But Professor Russo would get Coulsonor on her if she refused information, and **_no one_** could hide anything from him.

"There's… stuff happening, personally." She replied at last.

"If it's affecting your work…"

"It won't be a problem for long," Kitty rubbed her arms slowly. "A friend is in a…bad situation, and we're trying to help him. I've just been distracted."

"Okay, I can appreciate that. But if it gets worse, you need to go straight to Coulsonor. I can't do much about finals, but I can make sure you don't lose your scholarship here." Professor Russo pushed himself off the desk and headed off, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets.

Kitty stared after him for a moment, mulling over just how Coulson could help any of them. He was just a college counselor! And it wasn't even a student in trouble. What can he do for a total stranger?

Wasn't that the million dollar question.

Remy was just a stranger. Why were they getting so riled up over him and his problems?

' _Because I was raised to be a decent human being_ ,' Kitty sighed internally, returning to her code work. She could ponder her personal philosophies after classes; she had too much to do right now.

**0XX0**

"Goddamn technology…" Anna muttered darkly as she thumped her fist against the grumbling printer for the tenth time. She growled when it beeped at her again, flashing an error message. Lies.

Anna bashed it again for good measure, creating an echo in the large campus library. She got a few glares from students around her but she paid them no mind.

With a growl, Anna pulled her USB stick out of the computer she had been using and quickly logged out before sulking up to the librarian's desk. Goddamn technology making her submit her goddamn research paper too goddamn late.

Goddamn.

"Is there another print close by Ah can use?" Anna asked in a hushed tone, staring over the desk at the casually dressed woman in charge of this most important room. "Ah gotta submit this 'fore ten thirty or Ah'll fail."

"I am aware." The librarian pushed her glasses up her nose, finally looking up at the Southerner with hard grey eyes… and still somehow looking down at her as well. "All the other printers are currently in use."

"Are ya kiddin' meh?" Anna's voice squeaked, glaring at the older woman.

"You could go to the computer labs."

"Ah've got fifteen minutes ta hand this in, 'n' the lab's a twen'y minute walk!"

"Shush." The librarian pulled back her red-dyed and brown hair, turning to stamp a book next to her arm. "You should know better than to print essays at the last minute."

Anna bit down hard on her tongue, reminding herself over and over that she couldn't graduate from prison. The **_nerve_ ** of some staff to just frigging assume stuff didn't happen in a student's personal life! The universe didn't revolve around college, dammit!

Anna turned away and snagged her bag before she could bite back at the librarian's stupidity. The had to be somewhere closer she could print off her essay in time…

"Anna!"

Said woman snapped to attention in the middle of tying her scarf, turning to a small office door where two women were hanging off the frame and waving to her. Anna smiled, despite herself. Amara and Tabitha, the deadly duo!

Amara, dressed in her well-worn white denim jacket, dark jeans and furry boots that only complimented her tan Venezuelan features, stood close to the pale, blonde Tabitha; she was wrapped up in an open winter coat, long red scarf and tall boots over her jeans, despite being in the warm indoors (Anna didn't blame her really; she hadn't taken her coat off all day).

Anna made her way to them, careful not to attract the librarian's attention. The three of them stepped inside the office quickly.

"Hey, guys." Anna greeted, briefly hugging both of her old friends. "Ah can't stay-"

"We know." Tabitha smirked, bringing out the laugh wrinkles that hid around her blue eyes. "Miss Cranky out there won't let you use the office printers we have back here."

"But we're in charge of this room, so screw her rules." Amara laughed with a slight accent, tinging her cheeks rosey red.

"Oh God, won'tcha get fired or somethin'?" Anna asked, clutching her USB. Landing this assistant job on campus had been one of the best things to have ever happen to Tabitha in all the years she had known the teenage rebel; it kept her busy, responsible and socialised. Her fast friendship with first-year Amara was proof of that.

"What she don't know can't hurt her." Tabitha chuckled, plucking the USB stick out of her friend's hand and heading to the computer. "English Lit or Gender Politics folder?"

"English. Ms Frost is super picky 'bout the e-mail system, you would not believe it. Physical copies **_only_**." Anna rolled her eyes at the thought of the two-time divorcee she knew as Ms Frost. She was a great teacher, but she had some seriously outdated standards on the college system. Technology is bad, fire is scary, Thomas Edison was a witch and all that.

"Everyone has that kind of professor, Anna." Amara said, crossing her arms over her chest and shifting on her feet.

"Is it the huge file 'bout children's books?" Tabitha asked. Anna confirmed. "Final draft in the spool for printing."

Tabitha stood straight and took off her scarf, revealing the Tattoos Of Regret from her high school era crawling up her neck. Black sketchings of large smiley faces, badly drawn dolphins and roses covered her chest and shoulders, though a few were more faded than others. Her dad was probably paying for them to be removed at long last, Anna mused.

"Thanks for the help." Anna said, leaning against an old filing cabinet to catch her breath.

"You can buy me another lunch if you wanna thank me." Tabitha smirked.

"We already had our lunch this month-"

"Which you spent all spaced out. Doesn't count." Anna pouted, embarrassed at herself for that day. The events of the night prior had been weighing heavily on her mind the whole time she was with Tabitha. She hadn't thought her state of mind had been so transparent.

"So, what'cha been up to, Amara?" Anna asked, watching the younger woman collect her essay pages as they came out one by one. The brown girl was more Kitty's friend than her's ever since she had transferred to Bayville from San Carlos, but she and Anna knew each other well enough to call the other a friend.

"Studying, working. The usual stuff." Amara shrugged, fiddling with a stapler on the desk.

"That's a lie an' y'know it." Tabitha said, elbowing Amara. "There was this huge drunk fight on her dorm floor last night."

"An' ya didn' tell meh?" Anna gasped, hand on her chest and looking deeply offended.

"I thought Kitty told you." Amara answered sheepishly, gathering the printed papers and stapling them neatly together without making eye contact. "There, all done. Bye!"

"Yer not escapin' that easy, youngin'." Anna swiped her essay and stuffed it between her textbooks in her bag. "But I gotta fly. Talk ta later."

"See ya."

"Don't forget lunch!"

The three girls waved goodbye as Anna fled out of the office, and then the library. She was lucky to have run across them as the right time, lest she face Ms Frost's infamous anger. Anna had only seen it from afar, but after her professor's insistent meddling the other day about her lack of paperwork, she knew it would be her next unless she got the essay in on time.

It would be the first time she hadn't handed in work early in her two years at Academy. Hell, the only reason she had finished it on time was because she had completely thrown herself into the essay to forget about Remy.

Swamp Rat. _Dammit_.

Unlike Kitty, the prodigy who could work through thunderstorms and blizzards, Anna needed an absolutely clear mind in order to do anything like research papers. That was something that had avoided her until she forced it down.

Though it had only been a few days since the incident, Anna had already seen boxes flow into the Rasputin apartment, and Illyana told them that her brother had spreadsheets or something over the walls.

The man was dedicated, if anything.

Anna sighed inwardly, rubbing her forehead. This had to blow over soon. There was no way this could be dragged out any longer than it needed to be, yet something told her it would be months until they knew any peace again. Great. Just… great.

Picking up her pace, Anna focused on the path ahead of her and pulled out her iPod. She could worry at home; she had too much to do right now.

**0XX0**

"I'll be back 'bout t'ree, an' make sure de house is tidy; I'm bringin' friends over."

"Oui, chérie. Who's comin'?"

"Jus' a couple girls from work." Belladonna hugged her wooly scarf to fit snug around her neck, blending in with her red coat and high brown boots. She smiled up at Remy, eyes practically twinkling.

Remy held up a brown knitted hat and pushed it down onto her head. Bella squeaked and swatted his hands away, fixing the hat herself.

"Careful of m' hair!"

"It's better den a bike helmet, non?"

Bella narrowed her eyes but smiled anyway, making Remy chuckle and smile back; she wouldn't have to worry about the bus if she stopped stressing over her hair so much. He sighed through his nose, watching his girlfriend double check her bag and pockets. He then held up a small bottle to her face. Bella frowned.

"Boo-"

"Chérie, y' gotta listen to y' doctor." Remy said, slipping the pills into her coat pocket. "You've been doin' so well."

"Not 'cause o' pills," Bella shifted on her feet, looking away. "Julien said I was doin' great, 'n' I wasn't takin' 'em den."

That explained Thanksgiving. "Belle, y' doc didn' spend six years in Evil Medical School t' be called 'Mister'."

"You an' dat movie." Bella rolled her eyes, crossing her arms and frowning more. "I hate bein' sick, Remy. I hate it."

"I know, chérie." Remy kissed her forehead and pulled her into a warm embrace. "You'll get better."

Bella hugged him back tightly and buried her head into his chest. "I don' know what I'd do wit'out ya, boo."

"I love ya."

"I know." Bella sighed and pulled away to peck him on the lips. "I gotta go catch de bus now. Call m' boss if ya need anyt'in'."

"Oui oui." Remy nodded, pushing back his thoughts of his still 'missing' phone, and opened the front door behind Bella. A chilly breeze blew in and he shivered harshly, despite his many layers of sweaters. "Have a good day."

"You too." Bella smiled at him one last time before heading out of their small house. Remy quickly shut the door and hurried over to the warmer kitchen.

He sighed shakily, rubbing his eyes and forcing down the pain in his chest that threatened to erupt in bile. He couldn't believe he was actually doing this to her. Piotr had said it would be for her own good, but what if it didn't work out? What if Bella just got worse once he left? There would be no one here to look after her; anything could happen-

A loud knock jolted Remy out of his thoughts and he turned to the back door on the other side of the kitchen. Piotr stood on the other side, peering through the window and waving to the Cajun. Remy unlocked the door and stepped back to let the Russian in.

Piotr glanced around, swiftly removing his gloves and taking in the sight. The kitchen was a simple design; white marble tops, wooden cupboards all over the walls, and a light grey tiled floor. very few utensils were scattered around the counter tops, and the oven door was open ajar.

"It's not that cold, Remy."

"My balls are freezin' off, y' damn polar bear." Remy grumbled and shuffled past Piotr into the living room. "I got a couple boxes for y' upstairs, Pete. Did ya get the ones from m' office?"

"All stacked in apartment and not paying rent, da." Piotr said as he followed Remy through the house, ducking to avoid low-hanging lampshades and doorways (What is this? A center for ants?).

"Good t' hear." Remy replied as he jogged up the spiraling stairwell with Piotr close behind. The Cajun led him to a bare-bones excuse for a spare room and knelt down next to the wiry bed frame, pulling out boxes and bags from underneath.

Piotr stood by the door and took his phone out, smiling at the photo Illyana sent to him of Lockheed jumping off her bed. He sent a smiley face back to her and then glanced over his newest messages, including one from Kitty.

[[ _just texting to say that anna and i totally forgot about finals coming up, so we might not be communicating with the outside world for a long while. bad timing, ikr?_ ]]

[[ _and sorry about the other night, Pete. i got caught up in the moment and took it out on u_ ]]

[[ _this is a super bad thing happening rn and its been a toll and my words arent working blurgh_ ]]

[[ _once tests are over well go out to ur favourite place. my treat_ ]]

Piotr couldn't suppress his smirk and quickly typed back:

[[ _I doubt you could handle the prices of MY favourite place ;)_ ]]

[[ _ohhhh do i hear a challenge?_ ]]

[[ _More along the lines of your death wish._ ]]

[[ _Also, your spelling & grammar are as bad as Remy's. I'm almost embarrassed._]]

He chuckled, leaned against the wall and rubbed at the dark circles under his eyes, paying no mind to the rest of the world.

[[ _ALMOST? that's it, me and remy are gonna plot a bad spelling mutiny against you_ ]]

[[ _well see who's embarassed then_ ]]

Piotr snorted and bowed his head down to muffle the noise, smiling widely as his shoulders shook. Remy glanced up from his pile of boxes and gave him a look as he walked over.

"What'cha gigglin' over, mon ami?"

Piotr looked up and shook his head, smiling more. "Mutiny."

"...Y' lost me."

Piotr just held up his phone to Remy as he stood up straight, chuckling the rest out. Remy skimmed over the screen and sighed loudly.

"Oh, de fun love life of Piotr Rasputin." He turned on his heel, heading back to his job. "By da by, we'll be spellin' so bad, you'll wish you'd never met us."

" _Bohze moi,_ whatever will I do." Piotr said flatly, sending a last farewell (and promise of study food) text. He strode over to the boxes, glancing over each one. They seemed to be filled with random junk one would just throw off to the side to clear up space elsewhere, though he did spot a few photos here and there.

Remy lifted up a packaging box that had been taped up and labeled 'attic', and dumped it into Piotr's arms.

"Dis is ol' high school stuff dat I've managed t' keep off Bella's radar." He explained, bending down to pick another smaller box up. "God knows she'd burn dese if she knew 'bout dem."

Piotr was tempted to ask why; Remy and Bella were childhood 'sweethearts', what could prompt her to burn anything from their teenage years? But he kept it in. He and Remy were best friends, but there were still many things he had yet to tell him about his earlier years with Bella. He'd find out eventually, probably. Maybe.

Remy gave the other box over, taking out a woven bangle from it and running his thumb over it. He smiled sadly, playing with the knotted ends.

"What is it?" Piotr asked, looking at the bangle curiously. Remy held onto it.

"A gift, from someone I really miss." He answered quietly, putting it back into the box. Piotr pursed his lips, only nodding as Remy lifted a bag onto the boxes. "You'll be okay walkin' with all dis?"

"Da." Piotr adjusted his hold on the items. Remy shoved the other boxes back under the bed before standing up to dust off his hands.

"If y' say so." He shook his head, taking out his phone and toying with it. Music began to play out of it as the two men walked back out, a male voice sang French lyrics to a fast dance-like beat. Remy smiled and bopped his head along, almost skipping down the stairwell.

" _Cette fois c'était la dernière; tu peux croire que c'est qu'une crise; mate une dernière fois mon derrière, il est à côté de mes valises…_ "

Piotr groaned loudly and rolled his head back as he and Remy walked back through to the kitchen. The Cajun laughed and hummed the tune loudly.

"Bella never lets moi listen t' Stromae in de house. Gotta spend dis alone time well, non?"

Piotr mouthed a few words on his tongue before giving up and just nodding in silent agreement. They returned to the kitchen without any more fuss as the chorus picked up and Remy bopped his head to the tune.

Piotr stood at the door, turning to look at his friend. "I'll see you soon, da?"

"Yup." Remy nodded, rocking back on his heels and stretching the torn up ends of his jeans. "I'll try 'n' call y' if anythin' happens, and get some real sleep.

Once the door was shut and locked, the Cajun sighed heavily and glanced to the clock. Almost noon. He still had a few hours to himself, with nowhere to go and no work to concentrate on, so Remy left his phone blaring music on the counter and started working on lunch for himself.

Not like he had much else to do right now.

**0XX0**

_Bleorp_!

Upon hearing the Skype alert over the hustle and bustle of the campus cafeteria, Anna lifted her gaze up to the phone sitting next to her tray of barely-edible food stuffs. She swallowed her mouthful of burrito and opened the app.

_Kurtus Wagnus: [1:32 PM] Yo, Anna!_

_The Uncanny Rogue: [1:34 PM] Hey, Kurt._

_Kurtus Wagnus: [1:35 PM] You know you're my favourite sister in the whole world, right?_

Anna narrowed her eyes at her phone and quickly glanced around her. Seeing that no one around her was paying any attention, she kept typing away.

_The Uncanny Rogue: [1:38 PM] I'm your only sister. What do you want?_

_Kurtus Wagus: [1:39 PM] Tch, you accuse me! Can't I tell you how wonderful you are without wanting something?_

_The Uncanny Rogue: [1:41 PM] You COULD but then I'd know for sure that you had been replaced with an alien clone. Spill the beans._

_Kurtus Wagnus: [1:42 PM] Your logic knows no bounds._

_Kurtus Wagnus: [1:43 PM] The campus is closed early due to bad weather and Evan's already gone to his parents for the trip north. Can I stay with you 'til you go too?_

Anna resisted the urge to slap her forehead and groan. Of course he wanted to bum on the sofa bed.

_The Uncanny Rogue: [1:45PM] You big baby. Why don't you head back to Germany for the month?_

_Kurtus Wagnus: [1:46 PM] Ugh, as if I want to be around the 'father specimen' for a month._

_Kurtus Wagnus: [1:47 PM] Besides, he and mother are spending the holidays on a couples retreat or some shit. I got nowhere to gooooo._

_The Uncanny Rogue: [1:50 PM] Can you afford the trip north?_

_Kurtus Wagnus: [1:51 PM] Uhhh, dunno. Probably not?_

_Kurtus Wagnus: [1:52 PM] Could you even fit all of us in that cabin?_

_The Uncanny Rogue: [1:52 PM] No_

_The Uncanny Rogue: [1:53 PM] I'll text Kitty and let her know you're coming over, but you'll be expected to cat-sit while we're gone._

_Kurtus Wagnus: [1:55 PM] Eh, nothing I can't handle. I'll pay for my food, as always._

_The Uncanny Rogue: [1:56 PM] Good half brother~ You learn well._

_Kurtus Wagnus: [1:56 PM] Har har, very funny._

_Kurtus Wagnus: [1:57 PM: I'll see you tomorrow night then. Puff the pillows for me!_

Anna sent an annoyed smiley face back and put her phone down, rolling her eyes. Having Kurt over for a couple of weeks wouldn't be the end of the world; he could probably help out with their last minute Christmas shopping as well, and Kitty would be happy to know her plane-phobic cat would be looked after while she was at home. It'd be easy.

She picked up her phone again and went to take a bite out of her burrito, only to find it had gone cold. **_Dammit_**.

[[ _Just to let you know that Kurt is gonna stay with us for a couple weeks. Campus is closed and he's lonely_ ]]

Anna sent the text and put the burrito down, lamenting the loss of her lunch. Oh well, she still had her soda and a bag of chips to last her. Picking her things up from her table spot, Anna quickly made a bee-line to the exit of the over-crowded cafeteria (bumping a few elbows along the way) and began to wander aimlessly down the empty hallways.

She didn't have to be anywhere for another two hours when her shift at the store started, and all of her friends were either stuck in lectures or with teachers who didn't allow visitors; there was no point in heading home either, so she was stuck here until it was time to go to work.

Her phone beeped.

[[ _wtf anna?! we can't have gusts over rn! we have finals_!]]

Finals? Those weren't until December-

Wait.

 ** _Shit_**.

Anna froze in her spot as her mind raced to pluck out her exam dates from memory. She knew that she had three exams on the days before she left for home (including her English Lit on the day of her flight), and there was the psychology exam she had to retake from last year the week before those… Were there any others that she was forgetting?

Why the frick hadn't she remembered?!

Oh right, drama.

Anna slowed down her breathing and started walking again, this time heading towards the counsellor's offices. Reaching out to them was her best chance at not missing any exam days at the moment, especially if her memory was failing her.

She and Kitty were going to be holed up in their apartment and the library for the next couple of weeks, that was for sure. Kurt was a grown boy; he could look after himself and keep out of their way for the time being. Help keep them sane in the midst of the studying madness as well (last year had been the first time either girl had wondered how far one would have to drop to fracture a leg bone; neither of them had wanted to take the Latin final). Anna briefly mused on how the Rasputins would occupy themselves if the conflicting schedules wouldn't allow for another proper conversation until they came back after New Year's, but a louder thought intruded on that.

The Swamp Rat.

Anna paused outside of Coulson's office and shut her eyes. No. She couldn't worry about him and his crazy bitch girlfriend right now.

She had to trust that Piotr could do everything and not bring her into it. She had to for the sake of her sanity.

' _Hold my breath and count the days; I'll be graduating soon…_ ' Anna thought as she knocked on the door and perked up when the staff member inside answered for her to come in.

' _Not soon enough…_ '

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So many song references in this chapter. Stromae and the Heathers musical are two of my most recent musical obsessions; I say everyone should check them out! I didn't add those certain Stromae lyrics for no reason (get an accurate translation if you can).
> 
> Sorry for any mistakes in this chapter: due to my beta's incredibly busy college life at the moment, I've given her a break from editing to focus on her grades, so the next few chapters will be mostly un-beta'd like this one.
> 
> Once again, thank you for all the reviews and kudos! Keep them coming, please! And go check out 'Full Disclosure' as well, you won't be disappointed.


	11. Same Old Madness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Our most wonderful beta, cartoonanimegirl, is taking a break from editing this fic to focus on schoolwork and so some chapters will not be checked for errors or the likes. Sorry if this causes any trouble! The beta shall return soon enough, no worries!
> 
> Now onto a chapter that includes some of my favourite character interactions of this whole story~

Anna loved her half-brother, she really did. Apart from Laura and (maybe) Tabitha, there was no one else in the world that understood her and worked around her better. Despite their differing views on their shared mother, and their rocky beginnings, the two of them had clicked perfectly together. They were as thick as thieves and that would never change.

But sometimes, Anna found, Kurt could be a really inconsiderable asshole.

Such as today, when he arrived at her apartment 10 hours early and told her that he had already been on the way to the train station before texting her the previous night. She forgave him when he presented her and an irate Kitty with a case full of quarters - enough to last them _**months**_ of laundry.

Then Anna went back to being mad at him when he told them that he had already done his finals the week before. And that he had only done three exams.

Screw his German ass to Hades and back.

Still, he had agreed to keep out of their hair while they studied away and had even gone to keep Illyana company for today. He wasn't all bad.

In the middle of studying the wonders of 1700's feminist literature, Anna decided to take a short break to check on the resident feline, only to find Kurt and Illyana making the tomcat jump on Piotr's bedroom door with a laser pointer. Spending their time wisely, obviously.

"Mein lieber, jou look like a sausage." Kurt said as he swiveled around on the wooden floor to face his sister. Illyana laughed and did the same, picking up Lockheed like a furry baby.

"Excuse you, Ah'm a fabulous potato." Anna scoffed, rubbing at the dark circles forming under her make up-less eyes. She spared a glance to the familiar main room of her neighbours' home, feeling the space freed up with all the furniture pushed up against the crusty yellow walls. She was surprised Piotr hadn't come out to make a comment about it already.

"How's tha cat? Do ya have tea? Ah need tea or Ah'll murder a man."

"You und your tea." Kurt rolled his eyes, taking Lockheed from Illyana as she got up to march into the kitchen.

"Ve have berry tea." Illyana called out through the window gap in the wall separating the kitchen from the main room. Anna walked over and peered through, smiling at the faded scent of ginger that wafted from the stove top beneath her.

"Yeah, that'll do. Don' make it too hot." The blonde nodded and dumped a tea bag into a tall mug.

Anna muttered her thanks and plonked herself into an armchair squeezed between the couch and coffee table, sprawling all over it. Kurt loomed over her as best he could and dropped the cat onto her lap.

"Jou dead yet?"

"Yeah, sugah, Ah'm dead." Anna replied darkly, rubbing Lockheed's side.

"Vhat a shame." He tutted and shook his head, shadows of a smile teasing the age-old joke between them that they stole from an old Disney film. Lockheed curled up against Anna, purring loudly and rubbing his nose on her arm. She stroked his back, popping a few kinks in her neck as she did so. She would have to invest in one of those neck pillows soon; Kitty would waste no time quoting Leslie Knope to her once she had it on.

A quiet ding beeped from the kitchen and Illyana returned to the siblings with a steaming mug. Anna took it eagerly and drank. It was far too hot and watery for her liking, but it still hit just the right spot.

"Ohhh, this is good stuff." She moaned, to which Lockheed stared at her with wide amber eyes. Illyana chuckled and nestled herself against the back of the couch that was facing the TV wall.

"How study go?" She asked, crossing her legs.

"Judging by previous experience," Kurt started, leaning against Anna's seat and poking around her face. "No sleep, no food, un' vorst of all, no tea."

"And waaay too many books for mah likin'." Anna rubbed her sore eyes again. She had actually been getting a lot of sleep, but staring at a screen for hours on end didn't do her corneas any favours. She couldn't imagine what Kitty felt like, the young prodigy believed that all-nighters were the key to a good GPA. She had even caught her friend napping over her laptop the other morning. Piotr would have been horrified, but she doubted that he had even seen a hint of Kitty's erratic sleeping schedule since they hadn't heard much from the Russian giant in the last couple of days (not that it was intentional; sometimes they were too busy to even think).

"It be over soon." Illyana said, smiling softly. Not soon enough.

"Ain'tcha startin' ya course soon, Illyana?" Anna asked, veering far away from the brain-aching topic of finals. The younger woman perked up and nodded, fiddling with her fingers.

"Da, next month. I have to catch up on work, though."

"Maybe, maybe not." Anna shrugged. Late semester students sometimes got nice teachers who gave them a few projects to get them up to speed and earn course credits. Others… were not that lucky. "Ah'm sure Kitty will help ya either way."

Illyana brightened up at the mention of her best friend. "Da da, I know."

"You're starting in ze January semester?" Kurt blinked. "Jou have been living here for months."

"Lots of reasons." Illyana rolled her shoulders, not meeting his golden eyes. "Learning English, passing entrance exams, helping Piotr…"

Illyana gave Anna a pointed look at the mention of her brother, and Anna remembered what she had told them of Remy's hospital trip. Of course experiencing something like that would put anyone off going to college for a long while.

Kurt looked between the two women and their silent conversation. He was curious… but he knew that Anna would literally bite his head off if he dared ask about it.

"How have you 'n' Kurt been gettin' on?" Anna asked, glancing at her brother but keeping her shoulders squared and tight.

"It's been pretty good." Kurt answered, smirking. "I've been telling her about Chekov."

"Oh my God, you nerd." Anna mumbled, rolling her eyes hard enough to be heard across the sparse room.

"It is interesting," Illyana laughed. "I never watched those shows."

"Zen we moved onto Soviet Russia memes."

"How am I related t' ya?" Anna rubbed her eyes, suddenly too tired to complain anymore. A nap sounded really good right now, but she and everyone else knew that waking her up would be an absolute nightmare. She could last a couple more hours.

Kurt just laughed while Illyana smirked. Anna should have known that Kurt would corrupt the sweet Illyana with his internet memes and dank culture that had taken over his personal life. She had lost count of the times he had Rick Rolled her in the last year alone. No doubt Kitty helped him with the URL re-routing that had tricked her more often than not.

A loud Russian curse then echoed throughout the apartment, making Illyana jump up and Anna almost spill her tea on the cat.

"Piotr?" Illyana called out, heading to the closed door that hid her brother's bedroom-slash-studio. A muffled Russian reply filtered through, which sent Illyana running to the bathroom before either of the guests could register the panic.

Anna sat up and Kurt pulled himself up straight, watching Illyana - arms full of towels - run out of the bathroom and into Piotr's room. He turned to his sister, confusion plastered all over his face. He was met with a deep concern from her.

"That didn' sound good." Anna stood up, despite her protesting joints aching beyond her bones and a comfy Lockheed. Nothing short of a Remy situation called for a double Rasputin panic, and she knew that nothing he got into would need towels in Piotr's room.

Anna signaled for Kurt to stay back and she went straight in. A wave of oil and paints hit her nose almost instantly, blinding her to the scene until she was further in it. Illyana was on the wooden floor, spreading towels out and lifting cardboard boxes onto them; Piotr was sat on the edge of his large bed with his shoulders slumped and head in his hands.

She stepped forward. Water splashed against her bare feet and she jumped back to turn on the main lights. A huge puddle had formed under the easel leaning against the far wall and had spread to the rug and pile of boxes sat in the opposite corner of the room from where she was standing (was that the stuff Piotr was smuggling in for Remy? **Yeesh** ).

"What happened?" Anna asked, edging around the water and pulling up a dry corner of the rug. Piotr mumbled a reply in Russian.

"He's exhausted." Illyana translated, throwing aside a soaked towel for a slightly less soaked one. "He knock over paint wash, all over boxes."

"That ain't like ya, Pete." Anna said, wishing for more windows on this side of the building. The tiny one near the ceiling letting in a flicker of sunlight wasn't enough for this rug. She rolled it up and hauled it onto her shoulder. "Save that floor first, or downstairs will complain to tha custodian."

"Da, da." Illyana nodded, only half listening. Anna walked out with the rug, trying to recall if the custodian would be around at this time. If they could explain to her what happened before anyone complained or even noticed, she would help keep the floorboards mould free without charge.

"Anna, vhat happened?" Kurt asked, idling by the couch. Oh good, he still listened to her.

"Kurt, go int' Illyana's room, get out on the fire escape 'n' hang this out." Anna said. "Don't take ya eye off it."

"Ooookay?" Kurt raised an eyebrow as he walked over, eyeing the dripping mess. "Are jou going to explain?"

"Soon," She answered. "Ah'll be right back."

Anna rolled the rug onto her brother's slim shoulder, cracking her back, and then left him on his own. Kurt blinked, balancing the wet rug and wondering just what on Earth he had gotten himself in to.

Nonetheless, he made quick work to slip into Illyana's room, open the window and throw the rug over the fire escape, all while hearing the Russian conversation in the next room. Illyana sounded worried, and he could barely hear Piotr. He mindlessly wondered what they were saying as he sat down in a beanbag and watched the rug hang.

It wasn't exactly… 'weird' of Anna to not tell him details of her private life, but in other instances that he could remember, he hadn't been as directly involved in whatever was going on as he was right now. He never liked feeling out of the loop, but right now he felt like he was a galaxy away from the loop.

Kurt pulled out his phone, checking his e-mails and messages, as well as keeping an ear out for his sister. Illyana and Piotr were still talking quietly, and Lockheed was mewing in the main room, probably just as confused as he was. Or maybe he was just hungry, he could never tell.

A door opened and Kurt sat up at the sound of Kitty's voice, standing up to open the door and poke his head out.

Kitty, clad in her pink pajamas, was cuddling Lockheed, staring at the misplaced furniture and muttering under her breath. She looked like death with her pale face, messy untied hair and dark eyes, all without her usual layers of make-up. Illyana stepped out of Piotr's room carrying a box and spotted her friend.

"Katya, you're here!" The blonde put the box down and went to hug Kitty tightly. She hugged back and yawned.

"Yeah, da… I heard a noise here." Kitty rubbed her eyes and cracked the kinks out of her back. Illyana shot her a sympathetic look.

"Piotr's like you. Not sleeping."

"Wait, he's **what**?" Kitty's voice raised, her eyes snapped open, and Kurt stepped back into the bedroom; he knew that look all too well to stay close when she wore it.

Illyana just nodded, putting the box on the couch and batting away Lockheed's curious paw. "He's been so worried about Remy, deadline, work. He be running himself thin."

"That man…" Kitty grumbled, putting Lockheed down before marching over to Piotr's door. She knocked once and let herself in, Illyana quickly stepping in after her. Kitty ignored the strong stagnant smell of paint oils and instead focused on the man slumped over on the edge of the bed. Piotr glanced up at her as she came closer.

"Katya."

"Hey, Pete," She greeted, voice firm. "What'cha been doing?"

"Vorking."

"I see." Kitty sat herself next to Piotr, resting her head on his bicep. "You're working yourself to death."

"Not." Illyana scoffed from her side of the room, making Piotr straighten up. "I am not."

"Pete." Kitty gave him a stern look, wrapping her arms around his forearm. "This isn't healthy. You need to rest."

"I try-"

"Try again." She leaned up, kissing his cheek. Piotr froze in place, cheeks flushing bright. "Your best friend is counting on you right now, and you can't help him if you're tripping over buckets here."

Piotr regained himself, hunching over and shaking his head. Kitty patted his hand, smiling softly as she sighed through her nose.

"I know, but you gotta do it for him. Painting can wait." She added quickly before standing up. Piotr looked up at her, all too sorry for himself. "You can't sleep in here, the fumes might kill you."

"You can sleep in my bed, Piotr." Illyana offered, clearing up the wet towels.

"Or on our sofa-bed. Anna won't mind." Kitty offered as well, running her hand through his short hair and smiling when he leaned into the touch.

"Da, that be good…"

"I'll let her know." Kitty said, nodding to Illyana. She then pulled Piotr to his feet, which was far easier than it should have been, and kept hold of his hand. "Illyana, will you be okay here with Kurt?"

"Da, no worry." Illyana smiled, following them out with her arms full of towels wet and dry. "Ve can start dinner."

"Sounds good, huh Pete?" Piotr nodded and Kitty giggled, leading him out of the apartment with Lockheed following. Illyana dumped her mess into the laundry basket, watching them from the doorframe.

"We make big feast for you."

"Can't wait!"

Kitty led Piotr into her apartment and sat him on the kitchen island before going to clear up the souch space to pull out the bed. Some minutes later, when she was straightening the blankets and pillows before Lockheed got onto them, Kitty heard voices in the corridor and peered over to the open door to see Anna with the custodian woman.

"Anna!"

The Southerner whirled around at her name, catching sight of Kitty and the sofa bed. She let the custodian into the other apartment before entering her own.

"Before ya ask, Pete's not in trouble." Anna said, leaning against the wall and brushing her hair back from her eyes. "Ah told 'er it was a big accident 'n' she's gonna fix it."

"Thank God." Kitty sighed in relief and ran a hand through her loosened hair. "That's one less thing to worry about, and Piotr is going to sleep here by the way."

"Prosti…"

Anna looked over to the island, seeing Piotr sat down and munching on one of her juicy Granny Smith apples. She bowed her head to him.

"Good, we'll keep a close eye on ya."

"Spasibo…"

"Time for rest, Piotr." Kitty jumped up, clapping her hands loudly, and moved away from the now-habitual sofa-bed. She maneuvered Piotr to the inviting blanket and pillow pile, which he promptly collapsed onto. She tucked him in, smiling when Lockheed curled up into his side. "We'll be in our rooms if you need anything."

Piotr's body softened in reply, relaxing into the thick pillow under his head and falling into a deep rest for the first time in days. Anna watched him for a few more moments before turning back to Kitty.

"You're sure this is okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine." Kitty answered, resting back against the couch and rubbing her eyes again. "It'll be quieter over here and we can keep an eye on him without worrying Illyana."

"She owes us big time."

"Let everything calm down first, then we'll worry about that." Anna nodded in agreement, throwing the apple remains into the waste bin. She thought back to the past few days again, trying to pin down moments she had caught snaps of Piotr. Not much came to mind, but even so, had Illyana not noticed anything?

Or had she, and had chosen to stay silent as to not deter her beloved brother from 'working'? She was a sweet girl, but she trusted his word far too much, rather than her own judgement. She could have seriously hurt him-

No, she couldn't blame Illyana for trying to help, if that was the case. Piotr could have easily hid everything and only slipped up now, trying to hold the weight of the world on his shoulders. A man of steel, he was not.

The Rasputins were going to be the end of her.

Not that she had too many regrets about it.

"We should probably tell Kurt." Kitty suggested out of the blue.

"Yeah, before he tweets 'bout it or somethin'." Anna agreed, fixing her own pajamas and wishing she still had her cup of tea. It was probably cold now, dammit. "How?"

"Your brother, your problem." Kitty shrugged, skittering away to the bedrooms before Anna could get a word in. She glared after her.

"Great."

**0XX0**

Kitty's first exam came the day after and she went off early in the morning with seven hours to sleep powering her, and she texted Anna to pick her up later in the afternoon. Returning to the apartment closer to the evening, they dumped paper bags of ice cream, peanut butter and Nutella onto the kitchen island, then rearranged the TV to face them before settling down and eating away to an episode of Parks And Recreation.

Kurt left the room in disgust; Illyana lay over a beanbag to watch the TV, and Piotr took over his assigned couch with a bowl of nachos stolen from Kurt.

"Katya, how did exam go?" The Russian giant asked, throwing a look over the couch to the women sitting away.

"Shhh,no Devil talkin'." Anna barked, waving her messy spoon at him. He raised an eyebrow.

"It helps to talk. I would know, I graduated college."

Kitty and Anna turned their heads to each other, conversing through eyebrows, shrugs and tilted chins, then went back to Piotr.

"No Devil talk."

Anna had two exams the next day, both concerning her Literature major, and no one heard a single thing from her until Kurt called her phone for dinner; she was on the roof.

He went up to the flat top of the building, wrapped up in several scarves, and walked out onto a scene he had only ever seen in history books (and wished he had never come up alone).

Anna was standing in front of a metal trash bin, clad only in pajamas, holding her hands over a tall fire roaring from the bin. She looked over to Kurt, bags heavy under her green eyes and lips twitching from the cold.

"Hey, bro'!" She called out, standing with her back to the flames and a lazy smile creeping Kurt the hell out.

"I...Is zat legal?" He asked. He scooted closer, trying to peer into the fire without losing his eyebrows.

"Probably not." Anna smiled more, shifting on her feet. "Ah call it 'Alexandria'."

"...You're burning books?!"

"Eyup."

Kurt opened his mouth to squeak a reply out, but no words came to him. He stood limp in front of the bin, spying a burning cover of _Jane Austen's Classics & Influence. _A very specific library edition. Anna was so dead.

"Why…"

"Don' worry, Ah'll pay for damages."

That wasn't all that he was worried about; he didn't remember acting like this when he did his finals! He was thankful that, after Kitty's next exam and a few hours before Anna's, he brought lunch to them in Anna's darkened bedroom and found them watching videos on a laptop. Far better than library book burning.

" _...ask the bread loaf that's baking in my vagina?!"_

Okay, **now** he was curious.

"Vhat are you watching?"

"Pooping Barbie's, shaddup." Anna barely lifted up her head from her pillow. Kitty grunted in agreement.

Kurt blinked, then put the bag of food next to the laptop. Kitty snapped up and grabbed it fast, peering into it and inhaling the cashew nuts that had been tucked under the past flask. Anna reached in, pulled out an orange and picked at it, never breaking eye contact with the screen.

"Do you need anything else…?"

"Red Bull, four cans of Monster, a big flask an' a shit load of sugar packets." Anna answered, flicking bits of orange peel away. One hit Kurt as he stared in horror. He had seen such madness in his first college roommate; he never saw him again after the second serving.

"Zat- That vill kill you!"

"Worth it."

Kurt prayed that she would never get off her bed to hunt down the murder caffeine, or at least regain her sanity before she regretted it forever. He found himself transferred from cat sitter to full time lifeguard. Quite literally too.

He was returning from the laundry room the day before Anna's last exam and the day she left for home, reaching the resident floor from the stairwell, when he stepped into a wet puddle and was greeted with a water balloon to the face.

"High score!" Illyana pumped her arms in the air and jumped out into the corridor with a big smile, dripping hair and clothes soaked to her back.

Anna stepped out of her apartment, laughing loud when she spotted her wet brother."Oh my God, Kurt! Ya look so ridiculous! "

"I feel it too…"

Piotr and Kitty poked their heads out of the opposite apartment, spotting Kurt as well (Kitty was bone dry and Piotr was twice as wet as anyone else).

"Hey, happy elf!" Kitty came out, trying not to giggle at Kurt's deep pout, and took the laundry bag off of his hands. "Thanks, we're gonna need this."

"I...They...a-are either of you packed yet?! You're supposed to be studying!"

"Took a break." Anna tossed the laundry from Kitty to their hopefully dry armchair, then stretched her arms out without a care.

"With water- Have you learnt nothing?!" Kurt seethed, glaring at his sister and friend as strongly as he could. They took no notice.

"Tossing balloons, not buckets." Piotr said, though he quickly regretted it when Kurt sent the piercing glare in his direction. So the anger came from that side of the family.

"Don' freak out about it. We clean up good; last tests ain't 'til tomorrow, an' it's a super easy one for us." Anna tugged Kurt through the sloppy carpet and into the dry safety of their home. He kept glaring.

"We packed everything last night too." Kitty patted his back as he passed her and Piotr. "No need to worry about anything else."

"Ah already paid for a taxi t' take meh to the airport tomorrow. Kit's got s bus route planned for tha day after, an' Pete's got a tank full, right?" Anna looked to Piotr, who just nodded.

"I am going to have a hernia before New Year…" Kurt grumbled. The last thing he wanted was to spend the holidays alone in hospital.

"You stress too much under pressure." Illyana stated, ringing her long blonde hair over the kitchen sink. Piotr gave her a sharp look and she just shrugged it off. She wasn't wrong.

"Everything's gonna be fine!" Anna pulled off her wet socks, flinging them dangerously close to a napping Lockheed. "We just need t' survive tomorrow."

"We'll make it to Cheer Nationals and beat Tanya's ass into the ground!"

As Kitty and Anna laughed and shoved him onto the couch, Kurt was sure that he felt his eye twitch and red creep into his vision. He was sure they were giving him some payback for the short notice he pulled on them to stay over for the week. Anna was conniving like that when she wanted to be, and she always made him regret every sin of his.

He was sure of it, since now he could feel the revenge tearing his sanity away.

**0XX0**

In the late hours of the night, under the cover of darkness in Piotr's drying room, his phone hid in the shadows of the bedposts and suitcases stuffed under the bed frame. The screen flashed dimly, vibrating slowly with an alert for a new message before the exhausted battery would finally give up and wait for a recharge.

_Remy LeBeau to Piotr Rasputin,_

_Message received at 23:33, 18th December 2014:_

[[ _HElP_ ]]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to Special Hell™ and you're all coming down with me.


	12. Drowning In The Tide

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More fanfic fun from yours truly, now with an extra helping of feels.
> 
> So sorry for the delay in the recent chapters, but I have a really real excuse for my inactivity! I am an aunt of a lovely 11 week old girl; I have a huge vet bill to pay for my old cat (so I've been taking on extra commission work), and I have delved so deep into the Star Wars Rebels fandom that I know all too well that I'm never coming out.
> 
> I'm also going away on holiday today with zero Wi-Fi, so I won't be able to see reviews and such until I come back. I'll have another (longer) chapter when I do come back, and maybe some artwork to show off on my art blog (lochcamaenarts).
> 
> Enjoy!

Regarding what he had witnessed in the last few days (ranging from peanut butter feasts to bubble fights, crude Barbie YouTube videos and endless quoting of said videos), Kurt hardly found the newest event unfolding before him surprising. But certainly noteworthy.

Right now, he was sitting with Illyana between armchairs and watching Anna pace between apartments, trying to calm down an almost-hysterical Kitty over the phone. Apparently someone in her Socials class had gone out, brought lunch for the younger students, and then proceeded to offer her a cheese and tuna sandwich: her favourite. The act had sent Kitty into a flurry of years (that part made sense; the woman barely had time for breakfast this week and had practically starved herself to rush to today's exam.

Piotr and Illyana hadn't been pleased about it.)

Kurt would call his college years weird, but he had no room to talk. He'd once brought a poker table into his school's elevators and betted animal crackers against seniors during his last exam period. He had also taken part in Evan's Nerf gun war and lived to tell his parents how he had acquired a hockey puck-shaped scar on his shoulder.

They had been very angry with him.

Anna even more so.

Illyana nudged Kurt, and he jerked up to see Anna put down her phone at long last. She pushed her hair back, holding it away from her eyes as she sighed loudly.

"Crisis averted."

"Katya is better?" Illyana asked, leaning forward from the hiding spot.

"Yeah, just hungry an' overwhelmed." She walked over to a lone bean bag dumped in the middle of her living room, sending pens flying everywhere. The younger two shared a glance and went across to lounge on the sofa.

"And you aren't?" Kurt asked carefully.

"Hell yeah." Anna answered, covering her face with a thick Latin language textbook that she didn't even need. "Ah'm too tired ta do anythin' 'bout it."

"No waterfalls?"

"Nada. Try next year, or when Ah graduate."

"I vill keep that in mind, just you vait." Kurt smirked, chuckling under his breath. Anna shook her head; nothing short of a paying editor internship would make her bawl her eyes out in happiness (especially a couple hours before her last exam). Kitty was just far more emotional than her.

Anna rubbed her eyes, got up, walked straight into the kitchen and grabbed an apple sitting alone on the countertop. It was probably too old to be tasty but she didn't care. She could eat hospital food right now and be happy to actually have something in her stomach (Kitty would have scolded her and yelled to get a real meal; she was starving not a savage. Kitty was also a giant hypocrite). She flopped onto a beanbag, almost sending a stapler into Illyana's forehead.

"Why do finals exist?" She whined, throwing her head back and frowning like a child with no toy.

"To keep students on toes." Illyana answered. Oh, sweet summer child…

"To stop ze youth from enjoying life." Kurt answered. Closer, but no cigar.

"Lovely." Anna grumbled, pouting more which only helped her to look even more ridiculous than before in her green and orange pajamas (shut up, they're comfy!). She thought to herself to get dressed for the exam, or at least drag out her luggage so she wasn't rushing around when she got home. It'd save her some trouble… but she also couldn't be bothered right now.

Kurt and Illyana looked clueless, glancing around and to each other with raised eyebrows that prompted nothing.

Luckily for them, Piotr chose that moment to pop his head into the apartment. Illyana sat up, asking something in Russian. Anna rolled her head over to watch them, putting her feet up on the couch armrest and chewing the last piece of the bitter apple.

"Have any of you seen my phone?" Piotr asked aloud. Kurt shook his head. Anna shrugged and grunted in her throat. Piotr had a phone to talk to people he didn't live with? Wait, of course he did; he was in her contacts list. Her brain was turning to old person mush, she knew it.

"Sorry, Piotr," Illyana said. "I'll help look."

"Spasibo." Piotr nodded to her, rubbing his face and all the tiredness that came with it. He was getting more sleep, thankfully, but the last few nights had been jumpy. Probably because of the missing phone.

"I have to go out now, you'll be okay?" Piotr asked them all, receiving tired nods and groans. He sighed and backed out of the room, retreating into his own living space.

"Vhere was it last seen?" Kurt asked Illyana, opting to be helpful for once this damned week (Yes, she was still mad about his finals).

"Few days ago, by TV." Illyana stood up and rubbed her chin, trying to imagine where it had disappeared to. "But he might have put it somewhere else."

"That's a starting point." He pushed himself up onto his feet, then followed Illyana out, leaving Anna on her own and still pouting with nothing but an apple core in her hand.

She groaned again, stretching her legs up in the air and making no effort to actually get up. She had at least three hours before she had to go to campus for her final exam, and at least two hours worth of packing to do before she could even think of heading home for Christmas.

Anna sighed and rolled off the beanbag, forcing herself onto her feet and cursing every second of it. She knew it would be better to get it sorted now, but that didn't mean she liked it in the meantime.

**0XX0**

Piotr tucked his helmet under his arm, careful not to drop anything, and jogged up the stairs two steps at a time until he came up to his floor. He rushed over to the doors and skidded to a stop to throw his head into the student apartment.

"Is Katya back?"

Anna looked up from her spot in the middle of a pile of bags, some her's and others Kitty's. She spat out the shirt she was holding in her mouth to reply. "Not for another three hours, lover boy. Didn' she call ya?"

"Phone's missing, remember?" Piotr stood up straight, smoothing his helmet hair down and ignoring Anna's snarky retort. He pulled down the zip on his leather jacket when she tutted him.

"Zip up an' gear up." She said as she held up her phone, pointing it in his direction. Piotr gave her a look and she shrugged. "Biker get-up looks good on ya. Kitty would appreciate it."

"She's already seen it." He frowned, but complied anyway.

"She'll love ta see it again." She snapped a photo (or six) and smirked. "What do ya need her for?"

"I have surprise for her."

"Oooh, what?"

"Secret." Piotr turned around, shrugging off his jacket without interruption and went into his home. Anna grumbled, not paying attention to the voices that greeted him.

She huffed, blowing a hair out of her face. Her bags were laid out in front of her, surrounded by Kitty's own, with only a few shirts and bras left to put into her big suitcase. Cursing under her breath, she shuffled her carry on bag over to Kitty's section, shoved the rest of her apparel into the bigger bag, and then stood up to dust off her sore knees. She knew she should've used a pillow; jeans weren't made for kneeling.

Looking over her things, Anna saw that she was more or less ready to go home now, with only a few small stocking gifts to pack, but it still felt like she had a mountain to climb. There was an hour left until she had to leave for her exam, and then three hours until she left for the airport. There wasn't enough time to get in any extra studying (not that she really needed it), nor were there any small jobs in the apartment left to do-

"Anna, poptarts! Come get zem!" Kurt called from the opposite apartment door. Anna rolled her eyes and shoulders, cracking out the tension and fatigue the day had given her so far. Poptarts would do for now.

**0XX0**

Piotr turned the guest pass over in his free hand, frowning at the frayed edges and yellowing paper despite its laminated structure. This college had funds for a daily two year archery trick course, but not enough to update the passes that determined who was allowed entry onto the innard parts of the campus? Art college had been nothing like this.

He turned a corner and passed through an open doorway, now hearing the low grumblings of stressed students hunting for a snack. Kurt had told him to expect zombies when he got to the campus canteen. He hadn't thought it so literal when he left home earlier…

Piotr came to the open space filled with tables, chairs, and exhausted students in various spots and poses. He scanned over the area, spotting his target standing in front of a vending machine with a heavy bag weighing down her shoulders, and a couple of girl friends hovering around her. He made a bee-line to them, adjusting his hold on his helmets under his arm and smiling.

"Katya!"

Kitty lifted her head up sluggishly, huffing her tangled hair out of her face with a weak breath, to look over to Piotr. She recognised him after a tired moment and returned the smile.

"Peeete, you've come to rescue meee."

Piotr came up to her, holding out an arm to support her when she started to slump over trying to reach him. He chuckled as she steadied herself and then reached into his helmets, pulling out a plastic bag to hand over.

"Da, I thought your last exam day deserved nice treat and ride home." Kitty took the bag and opened it up, looking inside.

"Aww, you got me peanut butter popcorn! And- and bagels?" She pulled out said item, spreading crumbs all over their feet.

Piotr shrugged. "Kurt said you really like them."

Kitty pouted and narrowed her eyes, taking a big bite out of the bagel. "I **_do_** , but he thinks he's being funny."

"...Right. There's more." She raised an eyebrow at him but reached into the bag anyway. Her eyes widened and he smiled as she pulled out the gift, a very soft, very old Mr. Snuffleupagus plush toy.

"Something to remember me by over holiday."

"Awwww!" Kitty's friends chimed in the background, prompting Piotr to tear his eyes away from the teary smile adorning Kitty's face. Two women he hadn't met before were watching them, but he was sure the Asian one was in Kitty's IT class. He wasn't sure if he knew the brown woman, though it was more than likely that either Kitty or Anna had talked about her to him at some point. He supposed he should really meet more of their other friends.

"Guys, don't be weird." Kitty pouted again (Piotr frowned), turning on her friends. "You're the worst."

"We know and we love it. I'm Daisy, by the way." The Asian woman leant over to hold her hand out to him, brushing her short dark hair back to reveal a twinkle in her hazel eyes. Piotr shook her hand, even if he didn't completely trust that shine.

"You never let me call you Daisy!" Kitty's voice cracked and Daisy shrugged.

"You're not a cute boy." Kitty squawked at that. Piotr wondered if all of her friends had alternative names to go by for whatever psychological reason.

Daisy motioned to the other girl with them. "And this is the lovely Amara. Saviour of all printed essays."

"Hi." Amara waved, which only made Kitty groan and tug on Piotr's leather jacket.

"Meet and greet another time. I need to go home."

"Buzzkill, Kitty." Daisy stuck out her tongue and laughed. Amara shot Kitty a sympathetic look and waved her off.

"Yeah yeah, see ya next year. Happy Hanukkah." Piotr took his smaller helmet and fitted it on Kitty as she rested against him, grumbling other holiday greetings to her friends. He waved to them for her as he led her out of the canteen, wrapping an arm around her slim shoulders. They kept their pace slow and the smile returned to Kitty's face.

"Thank you, Piotr." She mumbled, just loud enough for him to hear. She held the plush to her chest. "I love it."

"Your welcome." He leant down and kissed her hair, pulling her closer to him. "We get you home, you eat up, light your menorah candle, then rest."

Kitty wrapped her arms around him as best as she could, smiling softly and looking up at him as if he were the only thing in the world.

"You're the best."

"You too."

**0XX0**

Anna dragged her suitcases across the tarmac, cursing her sisters for wanting such heavy Christmas presents, before dumping them by the taxi. The driver took a glance at the over packed bag and Anna guessed he was doing the same now. She shook her hands free of cramp and inhaled deeply.

"Ah just gotta grab mah carry on an' say goodbye. Can ya wait ten minutes?" She asked the driver as he lifted the lighter suitcase into the trunk.

"Sure, we're good for time." He shrugged.

"Thanks." Anna smiled, turning back towards her building. She crossed onto the cul-de-sac road, only to almost meet a speeding motorcycle face to face. She yelped loudly and jumped back, avoiding any collision as the driver speeded away to disappear behind the building.

Anna scowled as she recovered, shouting a string of colourful curses that some neighbour's kids were probably going to copy. She didn't care.

Once she was done, Anna ran back into the building and up the stairs. She was on short time now and wasn't going to waste it. She soon jogged up to the fourth floor before a high-pitched scream stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Kitty!" Anna bounded up the stairs, taking three at a time and ignoring the pain crawling up her calves for it. With her reinvigorated energy, she made it up two more floors to her own and rushed to the doors.

From there, she saw dark spots on the burgundy carpet. She knelt down and eyed the trail that led to the end of the corridor. Frowning, Anna followed it and peered down each corner; one led to the building's elevator, and the other to a window and fire escape. That's where the trail went.

"No…" Anna went to the window, now seeing that it had been hastily shut down with…

With a bloodied hand. Too big to be Kitty's.

Loud familiar voices pulled Anna back to the other end of the trail, which she only noticed led to the Rasputin door. Powered by a new determination, she stormed into the apartment with her head held high.

"What are ya do-?!" Anna froze as her eyes set on the scene unfolding in front of her. Piotr was rummaging through a first aid kit on the floor; Kurt was carrying bath towels across the room in a panicked state; Illyana was curled up on herself in the corner of the armchair, and Kitty was hunched over the couch where Remy was laid out.

Hand pressed against a bloodstained side.

"Oh, God…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's still space left here in Special Hell™ for all you lovelies.
> 
> Extra note: From here on out, you're going to notice a shift in style in the fic. The plot has kicked in and I'm going to keep the focus on the two main pairings from now on. The last few chapters introduced extra characters so that I can get them out of the way and not spend too much time in future chapters giving info dumps on them. We will not be straying away from the main cast's POV and there will be MUCH more focus on their development as well as plot progression.
> 
> I have 100 more chapters of this planned out; buckle in for the ride!


End file.
